Listen to Bassem Eid. He is a Palestinian human rights activist who lives in the West Bank. (Source: Newsweek)

On Monday, November 6, 2023, Newsweek magazine published:

By Bassem Eid, 

PALESTINIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

In the shadow of Gaza’s looming and heart-wrenching humanitarian crisis, there lies a stark and harrowing truth: Hamas, with its iron-fisted rule in Gaza, has once again revealed its true colors, not as a liberator of my people, but as a kleptocratic tyrant. As the international community scrambles to prevent a catastrophic collapse of essential services in Gaza, with hospitals running dangerously low on fuel, Hamas has hoarded over 200,000 gallons of fuel for its own militant apparatus, siphoning the lifeblood of innocent Palestinian civilians to fuel its hate- filled agenda against Israel.

The distressing scenes of Gaza’s residents desperately storming U.N. warehouses in search of aid starkly contrast with the calculated stockpiling Hamas undertakes. Hamas claims to fight for Palestinian liberation, yet their actions directly contribute to the suffering of the very people they vow to protect. With a stranglehold on resources, Hamas has brazenly demanded fuel deliveries, weaponizing the humanitarian needs of Gazans in negotiations while brazenly diverting aid to bolster its militant capabilities and terror tunnels.

Hamas’s actions are not merely a political maneuver. They reveal a moral bankruptcy that holds the lives of Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinians as ransom. As the international community and Israel work to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need, Hamas’s unyielding grip on power remains the principal obstacle to relief and peace. The audacity of this group to pilfer fuel meant for emergency services and manipulate the desperation of Gazans for tactical advantages is not just reprehensible; it is an act of terrorism by any definition.

And here’s more truth: It is Hamas that is holding its own people hostage as human shields. An audio recording published by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) revealed Hamas putting up roadblocks to prevent Gazans from moving away from the area that Israel had called on them to evacuate. Hamas’ callous nature towards its people’s rights includes storing weapons and other targets of military value next to schools, hospitals, and mosques. They want to kill Israelis and have Israelis kill their people and lose global support. Either is a win for them.

On October 17, according to indisputable evidence including audio recordings of the terrorists and the assessments of world intelligence services, a rocket launched by Gaza-based terrorists of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fell short and damaged the al-Ahli hospital. The New York Times and various Arab and Islamic diplomatic services breathlessly repeated Hamas’s false assertions that Israeli airstrikes were responsible and that the death toll was over 500.

The impact of these falsehoods was felt well beyond Gaza. Mobs in Amman, Jordan attempted to storm the Israeli embassy. In Istanbul, an enraged crowd nearly overran the Israeli consulate in the aftermath of the hospital claims. In Beirut, Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy was besieged by throngs.

This ugliness demonstrates why regional leaders who treat Hamas as credible do nothing to help the Palestinian people. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrongly stated that Hamas was not a terrorist organization but a liberation group. Jordan’s Queen Rania bizarrely promoted a Hamas-backed conspiracy theory that there was “no evidence” of the terror group’s atrocities, a mind-boggling exercise in victim blaming that the Israeli government compared to Holocaust denial in real-time.

I’m a Palestinian. Hamas Alone Is Responsible for the Blood Shed in Gaza
Gaza could have been Singapore. Hamas Turned It Into ISIS
It’s Time for Palestinians to Embrace Dr. King’s Nonviolent Resistance.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank where I live, senior Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders praised the Hamas carnage of October 7 as a “dream come true,” a “miraculous victory” and a “source of great joy.” These so-called Palestinian and Arab leaders are cowards who are afraid of Hamas and its purported “street power” in the aftermath of the killing, which has inspired the worst elements of society to acts of violence.

Listen, instead, to those of us on the ground. Any legislator right now calling for a ceasefire is misguided. Leaving Hamas in power after the horrific human rights violations they have committed is not just unimaginable because it would leave Israel’s deterrence eroded and its population catastrophically unprotected; it is dangerous in the short-term to Palestinians in the West Bank and in the long-term to the world.