The Hamas Media Office released a pamphlet in English, titled Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. If, on the one hand, it clarifies the matter concerning the abuses which have been attributed to Hamas, on the other hand, it adds to the confusion regarding its nature and objectives.
After describing the suffering endured by the Palestinian people since the end of the Ottoman Caliphate, it denies having perpetrated abuses against civilians and states that “Avoiding harm to civilians, especially children, women and elderly people is a religious and moral commitment by all the Al-Qassam Brigades’ fighters.” While acknowledging that “Maybe some faults happened during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’s implementation”, it clarifies that: “The allegations that the Al-Qassam Brigades on Oct. 7 were targeting Israeli civilians are nothing but complete lies and fabrications. The source of these allegations is the Israeli official narrative and no independent source proved any of them. It is a well-known fact that the Israeli official narrative had always sought to demonize the Palestinian resistance, while also legalizing its brutal aggression on Gaza.”
“We are confident that any fair and independent inquiries will prove the truth of our narrative and will prove the scale of lies and misleading information in the Israeli side. This also includes the Israeli allegations regarding the hospitals in Gaza that the Palestinian resistance used them as command centers; an allegation that was not proven and was refuted by reports of many western press agencies,” it continued.
Hamas calls on the International Criminal Court to conduct an independent investigation into these facts in order to identify and convict the individuals who perpetrated them.
Additionally, the brochure ends with a description of the organization that contradicts its previous publications. Hamas assures that “Its goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project. Its frame of reference is Islam, which determines its principles, objectives and means. Hamas rejects the persecution of any human being or the undermining of his or her rights on nationalist, religious or sectarian grounds.”
“Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine.”
The pamphlet concludes by claiming an end to the Israeli occupation and the freedom of Palestinians to decide their own future. However, it never alludes to a Palestinian “state”. Likewise, it only refers to the International Court of Justice in connection with its decision on the illegality of the Separation Wall, suggesting that it does not regard it as a court that rules on disputes between States.
Historically, Hamas is the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which it claims to have separated since the Brotherhood’s defeat in Syria in 2017. At the time, it was not fighting for Palestinian independence, but for the restoration of a Caliphate. Today, Hamas is divided into two currents, one under the authority of the Palestinian leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mahmoud Al-Zahar; the other is linked to the Palestinian Resistance, under the leadership of Khalil Hayya.
This brochure therefore falls short of clarifying its political position. The name of the October 7 operation, “Al-Aqsa Flood,” refers to the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque; a “Quranic truth”, according to guide Mahmoud Al-Zahar.
Israel supported the “historical” branch of Hamas, loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood, but is determined to eliminate the leaders of the current that has joined the Palestinian resistance, such as Saleh al-Aruri, recently assassinated in Beirut (Lebanon).