In a November 26, 2023 article in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, the daily's editor, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, states that Hamas' October 7 terror attack achieved northing but death and disaster for the people of Gaza, and calls to hold its leadership to account for this. For 75 years now, he says, the Palestinian people has been the victim of Arab hypocrisy, of false claims of victory by the resistance leaders, and of various opportunists who tried to profit off the Palestinian blood. Adding that the current ceasefire in Gaza reflects defeat and submission on the part of Hamas – even if its leaders tout it as a triumph – he derides the forces of the resistance axis, headed by Iran, which constantly boasted that the next confrontation with Israel would involve the 'unity of the fronts,' but at the moment of truth all went into hiding to save their skin. Al-Jarallah wonders whether Hamas' October 7 "escapade" was worth the death of so many Palestinians, the destruction of the Gaza Strip and the mass displacement, and states that Hamas' leaders should be brought to trial for this before an Arab tribunal, "for it is inconceivable that someone, anyone at all, should lead millions of people to the slaughter in the name of a dubious agenda."
The article on Al-Siyassa
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Jarallah's article:[1]
"A fateful issue like what Gaza, its people and all the Palestinians are experiencing, requires an honest discussion. For 75 years the Palestinian people has been the victim of Arab hypocrisy and pandering and of false claims of victory, which were used by the [various resistance] organizations to strengthen their political presence and by the leaders [of these organization] to gain more wealth and live in luxury, while the millions of [Palestinian] people lived in grinding poverty in the refugee camps, deprived of the most basic natural rights.
"The 'humanitarian ceasefire' [in Gaza] is nothing but an attempt to expose the truth about what Hamas did on October 7 and the vast and horrifying [scope of the] killing and destruction [in Gaza]. After 50 days of killing and devastation, Hamas capitulated to Israel's terms [for a ceasefire], which was a terrible defeat for it. We therefore hope that Isma'il Haniya, Khaled Mash'al and the entire gang [of Hamas leaders] will not now stand up and declare that what happened was a divine victory, or, [alternatively], repeat what [Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan] Nasrallah said after the 2006 war [with Israel], in which Lebanon was destroyed and hundreds of Lebanese fell, namely: 'Had I known that kidnapping two Israeli soldiers would bring all this death and destruction upon us, we wouldn't have done it.'[2]
"Everything the Hamas leaders are now saying about [their] achievements is meaningless and politically insignificant, especially after Haniya appeared, looking elegant as ever, to make statements whose upshot was: 'We [Hamas] are still the ones pulling the strings, and the ceasefire is a victory for the Palestinian people.' We therefore say to Hamas in all honesty: You are [not victorious but] defeated, and the Arabs are defeated as well, since they were unable to bring even a single truckload of aid [into Gaza] without Tel Aviv's consent and without [the truck] being searched.
"We hoped that reason would prevail in the Arab world, and there would be some vision, so as to prevent the Palestinian blood from being exploited by every opportunist. [But] when the moment of truth arrived, all [the opportunists] slunk into their hideouts. Iran, which for four decades has purported to be the flagbearer of the liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa mosque – albeit without firing a single shot [at Israel] – succumbed on October 7 to the American and Israeli threats. The same goes for Hizbullah, which acted rationally this time, after its leaders realized that this wave was too big for them [to ride]. So instead of bragging about 'the unity of the fronts' – [the slogan] that drew the Palestinians into the snare of launching this attack [in the first place] – they used the war to gain political power inside Lebanon.
"The Houthis, who tried to extend [the range of] their terrorism with symbolic attacks [against Israel], were hoisted by their own petard, whereas the [Iran-backed] Iraqi militias engaged in escapades that Tehran is now exploiting in its contacts with Washington, in order to receive more billions of dollars. As for Syria, it behaved rationally [too], because it is unable to endure a confrontation with the U.S. and Israel.
"This escapade that [Hamas' military wing,] the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, carried out [on October 7] without consulting anyone – was it worth causing the death of 15 thousand innocent [Palestinians], including 7,000 children and 5,000 women, destroying 60% of the Gaza Strip and displacing 1.5 million people from the north of the Strip to the south?...
"What was the benefit of this crime? Some might say that it brought the Palestinian cause back to the center of international attention and gained more support for it. But is this enough[?]
Is it not the case that voters in America, Britain, France, Germany and elsewhere in the world are preoccupied solely with their own domestic affairs and with improving their lives, and do not [really] care about what happens in other countries?
"Throughout the 50 days [of the war in Gaza], Khaled Mash'al and [the rest of] the Hamas leaders have been in hiding. In fact, all the leaders of the so-called resistance axis remained in hiding, fearing for their own necks, and tried to gain benefit from the Palestinian blood flowing in Gaza's streets. In the meantime the Israeli far right gained strength, and the armed attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank increased. Furthermore, the Israelis are [now] firmly demanding to eliminate not only Hamas but all the forces that support it. This means that [the situation] after the ceasefire will not resemble the situation before it, and that the tragedy will be greater. Do Haniya, Mash'al, [Yahya] Sinwar, [Muhammad Deif] and all the other [Hamas leaders] understand this?
"If the Arabs have any real vision, the ones responsible for this escapade should be brought before an Arab tribunal [comprising] representatives from all the countries, for it is inconceivable that someone, anyone at all, should lead millions of people to the slaughter in the name of a dubious agenda. The Arabs need to act in unison, for once… because what happened in Gaza is much larger than all the narrow considerations. Will the Arabs understand this?"
