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“You reestablish a military government over there and you announce that you are the government now. That mere announcement means Hamas is finished,” said Khaled Abu Toameh.
By Yossi Lempkowicz, JNS
“There is only one way for Israel to get rid of Hamas—to reoccupy Gaza. You reestablish a military government over there and you announce that you are the government now. That mere announcement means Hamas is finished,” said award-winning Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh.
“In 2007, Hamas did the same with the Palestinian Authority when it launched a coup. They immediately announced that they were the new government in Gaza, and many people accepted. The P.A. surrendered,” he told European and American journalists on a press tour in Israel this week organized by the Europe Israel Press Association and its U.S. branch, the American Middle East Press Association.
“That’s the only way to get rid of Hamas—by creating an alternative to them. The only alternative now is Israel. No Arab will come to Gaza as long as Hamas is over there,’’ added Abu Toameh, who worked in Gaza for many years and has met the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PLO.
“I don’t say that the occupation has to be permanent. I am not saying rebuild settlements in Gaza. I am saying you reestablish a military government and then you say to tell the world—’I am going to leave Gaza; I am not here to run the schools and the hospitals, but before I leave, I want guarantees and I want to know who is going to be in charge over here,’” he said.
“When you announce that ‘I am the government,’ Palestinians will wake up and tell you where Hamas is and where the hostages are. Because they know that you are not there for five or six days, but until you achieve your goals,” he continued.
“Unfortunately, Israel didn’t reoccupy Gaza after Oct. 7. They went in and out,’’ said Abu Toameh.
Asked about the recent Arab plan to rebuild Gaza proposed by Egypt, he replied: “It’s a nice plan, but don’t count on the Arabs to rebuild Gaza or help the Palestinians.”
The plan, he said, did not stem from any genuine interest for the Palestinians.
“The Arabs don’t care about the Palestinians. They announced this plan because they are afraid that U.S. President [Donald] Trump will send the Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt,” he continued.
“Since 1992, the Palestinians are almost entirely dependent on American and European taxpayers’ money. The Arabs don’t give them anything,’’ he said.
Surprised by the Oct. 7 attack?
Since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, many of his friends and colleagues from around the world had been calling to ask if the events of that day had surprised him, he said.
“My answer is yes and no. The timing of the attack came as a surprise to me. Not because it happened on a Shabbat and a Jewish holiday, but because we were all convinced that Hamas was deterred, that it was not interested in another round of fighting.
“It came at a time when Israel started easing restrictions on the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented way. For the first time since 2007, when Hamas came into power in Gaza, on Oct. 6, 18,500 Palestinians from Gaza had permits to come and work inside Israel. The plan was to increase that number to 30,000 at the end of 2023.
“So, we were all convinced that Hamas would not launch an attack because Palestinians had a lot to lose. That’s why the timing came as a surprise to me. What also surprised me was the nature of the crimes and the scale of the attack on that day.
“I am not saying that Hamas was previously a peaceful non-violent movement. I covered many of their violent acts. But what we saw on Oct. 7 was different. It was not the usual suicide bombings, stabbings and car-ramming attacks.
“Thousands of Hamas terrorists participated in the attack, and it is a fact that thousands of ‘ordinary Palestinians’ also participated in the attack. I didn’t see one Palestinian who condemned the attack.”
On Oct. 7, he continued, Hamas had done what it always said it would do—wage a jihad, holy war, against Israel.
“Oct. 7 is just another face in this Islamist jihad. The goal is very clear: to eliminate Israel and replace it with an Islamist state,” he said.
“Since its establishment in 1988, Hamas has been very clear and consistent about its message—this whole land is Muslim land. No Muslim is entitled to give up one inch of it to a non-Muslim. They have not changed one word of their ideology and charter,” he continued.
“I was also not surprised because I see it also as the result of a massive campaign to delegitimize Israel and demonize Jews. It is a campaign that has been taking place for years in the mosques, in the media and in rhetoric on streets and campuses.”
Arab Israelis fighting for integration in the State of Israel
“We the Arabs living inside Israel have no political demands from our state of Israel. Our only demands are those of a minority,” said Abu Toameh. “We want more jobs in the public sector and more public funding and investments.”
Israel’s Arabs are fighting for integration into the state, “While the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are fighting for the exact opposite. They want separation from Israel,” he said.
“Some of them want separation in the form of a Palestinian state next to Israel, but many sadly want separation in the form of a Palestinian state instead of Israel.”
Originally published by European Jewish Press.
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