Hamas Charter (1988):‘The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them. Then the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees and the rocks and trees will cry out, “ O Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him” ‘.(Article 7)‘(Peace) initiatives and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement’.(Article 13)Some people questioned whether Hamas really believe this stuff. However the events of October 7, in which Hamas not only murdered 1400 people but raped, tortured and mutilated their victims, even tying children together and burning them alive, and then sending images of their crimes to their families back home, show beyond doubt that Hamas is an evil death cult. Their claim to fight for the rights of Palestinians is a mask for their genocidal barbarity. They are the Palestinian equivalent of Isis.It is all very well to call for a ceasefire from the safety of Putney, claiming in a high-minded way that the choice between Israel and Hamas is not binary, but for Israelis it is a binary choice between life and death.Double standards are applied to Israel. When this country was confronted by the Nazis (who did not threaten to exterminate the entire population), I don’t think there were many protesters calling for a ceasefire, leaving Hitler in power, in order to avoid further German casualties. Britain prosecuted the war until Hitler was defeated and the scourge of Nazism was eliminated. But when the Israelis attempt to eliminate Hamas, who represent an existential threat to their country, they are accused of crimes against humanity.I don’t seek to minimise the scale of destruction inflicted on the people of Gaza. The war is awful. But there is a choice. Hamas could stop attacking Israel using the civilian population as human shields. They could put an end to their tyrannical rule in Gaza. They could surrender and hand over the sadistic killers who committed the atrocity of October 7 to the International Court for trial. Once peace has been established, Gaza could be administered by Palestinians who are willing to coexist with Israel, the blockade would end, Gaza could be rebuilt and its people could get on with their lives.This of course would not solve the question of the West Bank. I am not a supporter of Netanyahu. I would like to see the Israeli settlements on the West Bank dismantled and Israel withdraw its security forces so as to allow the creation of a Palestinian state. Unfortunately public opinion in Israel is suspicious that the supposedly moderate Palestinian Authority is only pretending to support a two state solution, seeing it as the first step in reclaiming the whole of Israel from ‘occupation’.
Steven Rose ● 577d