There is still much that hasn’t been proven about October 7 and the alleged attacks by Hamas Photo NBC News
Palestine – On 7 October, Hamas, Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, allegedly, paraglided into the Supernova rave in the Negev desert which led to the deaths of Israeli civilians. According to international law, civilians are individuals not taking part in hostilities, and they should not be targeted during conflicts. However, given the situation in Gaza and Israel, Bilal Abdul Kareem, American author and journalist in Syria, believes the narratives being pushed out are false.
One of the central debates revolves around Hamas, the Palestinian organisation governing the Gaza Strip. The characterization of Hamas as a terrorist organisation varies widely amongst different parties. Kareem takes a look at the incident through an Islamic viewpoint. In war, there are criteria that define legitimate targets which are fighters, contributors, and inciters. Kareem argues those who were at the rave mostly fall under the first category.
“In Israeli law military service is compulsory for all people, male or female over the age of 18. Many of the Israelis that are on the gates of Gaza right now are reservists. Most of the people walking around in Israeli society are either active soldiers in the military or they are reservists which means by definition they are fighters.”
People may challenge this and say they were just people who were having a concert and were not fighting anybody. However, Kareem says they are adults who were having a concert on internationally recognised stolen land. As such, being reservists and on stolen land, they cannot call themselves civilians.
“Now you can’t participate in a crime that’s recognised internationally and by the United Nations that you are on land which didn’t belong to your government just some years before and then when the people whose land you stole come back to take it back, you say ‘wait a minute, I got no gun. I’m a civilian’. No, it doesn’t work like that because I myself I’m not in the military but if I go and I take somebody’s house and then I invite my family to come and live in someone else’s house and the owner comes to take it back and comes in with guns blazing, can I legitimately stand up and say hey I’m a civilian? No. The reality is that they were participants in a crime that was committed that was internationally recognised that that land was not supposed to be in the possession of the Israeli government.”
When it comes to those who are contributors, it is those who contribute voluntarily, said Kareem, making a clear distinction between those who pay taxes to the Israeli government. The Israeli government continues to expand settlements ignoring calls from the UN and other organisations to stop the expansion of illegal land.
“Not only did you take land that didn’t belong to you but you had the nerve to throw a concert, have a party on other people’s property and then when they come to take it back you want to call it attacking civilians. So no, it just doesn’t work that way. That might be the narrative but I will not say that Hamas did a terrorist act.”
Challenges in verifying claims
The media plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. However, this genocide has highlighted the challenges of verifying claims. Sensationalized reports, often originating from biassed sources, can obscure the truth. Kareem challenged the media narrative on Hamas killing children at Kibbutz.
“Just because Netanyahu said that the babies were beheaded, why didn’t we see any proof of that? But people were quick to believe that. In any War, with the Geneva Conventions in article 8, it’s very clear that civilians can be affected by a military operation with the understanding that they are not targeted and that they will not be the predominant ones who are affected by the military operation. Therefore once these settlements were attacked, you are attacking people who are on stolen land. These people, the parents, made a conscious decision to set up their homes on land that did not belong to them. This is the first issue.”
After 18 days of this genocidal war, there is no proof Hamas targeted children and If evidence existed, Kareem says he would vehemently oppose Hamas. The story was first reported on i24 News which is an Israeli based English language channel.
“The journalist started by saying firstly 40 babies were killed and it morphed into 40 babies were beheaded and the media just ran with it. Next, if we’re going to talk about those females that were there, those settlers, they made a conscious decision again to settle on land that they knew was stolen. Therefore, how can we say that these are innocent civilians. Why? Just because you cross the age of 65. If I turn out to be 65, 70 or 75 years old and I know I have no business being on this land but I think because the settlers who are known to be armed and my government is going to protect me, that I can stay here and that’s exactly what happened. according to the United Nations, they had no claim to that land.”
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Historical Perspective: Settlers, occupancy, and subjugation
There are those who are in support of Israel who only seem to focus on 7 October, seemingly forgetting about the past 75 years. There is a concerted effort made by the West and the media to focus on October 7. It is not possible for ignorance go prevail in the midst of many protests and with a number of voices against Israeli occupation and genocide. .
“You’re finding with all of these protests, mass protests, that are going on in New York, London and around the world, we’re not even talking about Muslim countries, yet there’s a concerted effort to support Israel no matter what. Now that’s something that we really have to look at because this is not a thing where [they can say] ‘oh really I didn’t remember that, was it 75 years or was it just 75 months?’ No. They remember and it’s very very clear to them.”
The Hannibal Directive
One aspect that has come to the forefront is the Hannibal Directive, an Israeli military strategy that prioritises preventing soldier kidnappings, even at the cost of potential civilian casualties, including the soldiers themselves. Understanding this directive provides insights into the high casualty numbers.
“That’s why you found that there were reports that came out, even one lady who was a Hamas captive and she was released, she said the predominant number of the killings came from the IDF soldiers. I’m sure the people have heard this interview. The predominant number of killings that took place at the rave came because of the intense shootout between Hamas and the IDF soldiers. A lot of people went over their heads. This is a doctrine where if the IDF were to see one of their soldiers potentially being kidnapped and they’re put in a car, their orders are to spray the car to kill the kidnappers even if it kills the actual soldier. That’s why you saw such high casualty numbers at the concert. It wasn’t because Hamas just went in there and decided to kill everybody.This is their understanding that if there are going to be hostages taken and you potentially cannot free the hostage, spray the entire area to take out the captives even if the soldier is killed, it is less of a burden to negotiate to get their release.”
Unfortunately, Kareem does not believe the hostilities will end anytime soon. However, while the IDF has made it clear a ground invasion is very likely, Kareem believes they are scared as Israel knows they will suffer heavy casualties.
“It will [also] potentially bring Hezbollah into the conflict. Bringing Hezbollah into the conflict will create a military situation in the North and the South of the country that’s going to create a lot of military problems for Israel and who knows what other actors may join in. So no, I don’t see an end to the hostilities anytime soon. I wish I could tell you that I do but I’d be lying if I said that I see an end to the hostilities.”
