Free Palestine from Hamas

Source: Unsplash

Hamas will continue to prioritise the terrorisation of Israel over the welfare of their own people. For the Palestinian people living in Gaza to be afforded the same opportunities and aspirations as anyone else, Hamas’s stranglehold on the Gaza Strip must be broken. by Freya Leach.

First published in the MRC’s Watercooler newsletter. Click here to sign up to the newsletter.

Two weeks ago today, the world witnessed the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust. Over 1,400 civilians were massacred, gunned down at a music festival, burned alive in their cars and shot point blank in their homes. The suffering hasn’t stopped. There are currently 199 hostages being held inside Gaza. Videos on social media have shown the bodies of naked women being desecrated and paraded in the streets and others of young Israeli girls with blood on their pants between their legs.

On a per capita basis, the loss of life in Israel was worse than September 11. Who after September 11 was taking to the streets supporting Al Qaeda? Who was “elated” at the “resistance” of Osama Bin Laden?  

Yet last week the streets of our capital cities, in Australia and around the world, flooded with people celebrating the ‘resistance’ of the Palestinians. While the Opera House was lit up to show solidarity with Israel, pro-Palestine protestors were on the steps below, chanting “Gas the Jews'' while burning the Israeli flag. Meanwhile, the Jewish community was told to stay away because the NSW Police could not guarantee their safety.

My father was one of two Jews who attended the protest and waved an Israeli flag in defiance of the mob. As the child of a Holocaust survivor, he said you could feel the ghosts of pogroms past. Just three months ago, I was in Israel and visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza where some of the worst atrocities were committed. I’ve stood on the basketball court which is now used to pile up Israeli bodies. Everyone with a connection to Israel has felt, and still feels, profound grief.  

As a bi-partisan motion to condemn Hamas’ attacks on Israel was debated in Federal Parliament, the Greens moved an amendment describing Israel’s defence “a war crime”. Teals Sophie Scamps and Kylea Tink supported this amendment. Not limiting their extreme views to the Federal Parliament, the Greens also voted against motions condemning Hamas in various State Parliaments. The Greens promoted the pro-Palestine protests at which the actions of Hamas were justified and supported.

The response from Australian politicians – apart from the Greens and some Teals – has been generally appropriate. Anthony Albanese affirmed Australia’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned the actions of Hamas. However, the Government’s support for Israel will be challenged as Israel moves to eradicate Hamas. There are three factors that will test our this continued support for Israel in the weeks and months ahead.

1. Hamas is embedded in civilian infrastructure.

Hamas has used Palestinian civilian centres for military purposes. This is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Hamas placed its military arsenal in Gaza’s schools, homes, residential neighbourhoods, hospitals, and mosques. They even placed rockets under a UN-run school – twice. Hamas has fired over 600 rockets from civilian centres, including over 260 from schools, 160 from religious sites and 50 from hospitals. Hamas has established a labyrinth of underground tunnels dug in civilian homes to assist its terrorists in moving undetected. During the 2014 Operation ‘Protective Edge’, Israel destroyed more than 100 kilometres of tunnels beneath Gaza. The tunnels have become more sophisticated, many are equipped with electricity, lighting and rail tracks. In 2021, Hamas claimed its tunnel network stretched 500km. Sydney’s entire rail network is only 369km. Meanwhile, the whole Gaza Strip is the size of Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and North shore.

This tactic lets Hamas kill two birds with one stone. They use innocent civilians as protection knowing that the IDF would be hesitant to strike, and if IDF does attack, then they can twist public media to propagandise Israel as a vicious state. Blame for destroying civilian areas in Gaza must be placed solely on Hamas. By operating out of homes, schools and hospitals, Hamas uses Gazan civilians as human shields — another war crime. 

2. The people of Gaza are being used as pawns.

Since Israel’s founding, the Palestinian people have been weaponised. During the 1940s, tens of millions of refugees were fleeing from war-torn countries and resettling. Jordan was the only Arab country that resettled Palestinians. Despite the shared history, language and religion, all other Arab neighbours refused to accept the Palestinians. They were confined to refugee camps and refused citizenship. In 1960, King Hussein of Jordan declared, "Since 1948 Arab leaders … have used the Palestine people for selfish political purposes. This is ... criminal.”

The numbers of Palestinian refugees are often inflated so they can be weaponised against Israel. The UN body tasked with assisting Palestinians estimates there are 5.9 million Palestinian refugees eligible for its services. The same body allows Palestinians to pass their refugee status to their descendants – something other refugees have not been allowed to do. If the international criteria for refugee status applied, there would be just 30,000 Palestinian refugees today.

During this conflict, Hamas has continued to use Palestinians as human shields. Hamas told civilians in Northern Gaza to ignore Israel’s calls to evacuate. While Israel was dropping leaflets instructing civilians to evacuate, Hamas told residents to stay in their homes and called the evacuation warning a “disgusting psychological war”.

The plight of the Palestinian people is being exacerbated and manipulated by Hamas and neighbouring Arab countries. Will our Government rightfully blame Hamas for the suffering of Palestinian civilians and other Arab countries?

3. Information wars in the face of biased media.

Journalists debated for a full week whether Jewish babies had really been beheaded. However many news outlets immediately took the word of the Hamas-run Gazan “Ministry of Health” and reported that an Israeli air strike on a hospital killed over 500 Palestinians. Latest information from the US Government indicates that this was not an Israeli strike. 

It took the ABC hours to delete its Twitter post claiming an “Israeli strike … killed hundreds” at the hospital.

It was disturbing to see how quickly the media reported unverified information from a Hamas-controlled source. As elements in the media rush to criticise Israel, the Government must remain unwavering in its support for Israel’s right to self-defence and resist the anti-Israel bias in our media. 

So long as Hamas is running Gaza and their stated goal is the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people within it, Israel will constantly be targeted and the lives of Gazans will not improve. Hamas will continue to prioritise the terrorisation of Israel over the welfare of their own people. For the Palestinian people living in Gaza to be afforded the same opportunities and aspirations as anyone else, Hamas’s stranglehold on the Gaza Strip must be broken. As Israel carries out its operation to end Hamas terror, Albanese and the leaders of Western liberal democracies must have the courage and political will to continue to stand by Israel even when it gets difficult. 

Freya Leach is the Director of the Centre for Youth Policy