Kuwaiti Cleric Othoman Al-Khamis urged Hamas leaders to “show some regard” for the Muslims killed in the Gaza-Israel conflict. The terrorist group often places civilians, including women and children, in the middle of a fight.
“For God’s sake, show some regard for the lives of the Muslims who were killed,” he said. “More than 2,000 Muslims were killed, and over 10,000 wounded. Who is responsible for that? What were they killed for? How many Jews did we hit? How many Jews were killed in return? Not even a hundred.”
Israel is more advanced in technology and military than Gaza. The Iron Dome system intercepts missiles fired into Israel. The seven domes boast a 90% success rate. Al-Khamis said Muslims should not use the blockade as an excuse or fight if the enemy is stronger.
“What did we get in exchange for all those bombs and Muslim casualties?” he continued. “The blockade? The blockade has been there since 2006. It’s nothing new. The blockade will not be lifted by this war, just like the previous war did not lift it. One must look at things rationally, and deal with things as they really are. They say, ‘The blockade is killing us. It’s better to die (fighting).’ Not true!”
“You should not fight the enemy if you have no chance at winning. It’s about winning, not about dying. Muslims fight not in order to die, but in order to win. That’s the principle. Therefore, if the Muslims are weak, they are not allowed to fight.”
Al-Khamis is not alone. French-Moroccan Imam Rachid Birbach appeared on TV in France to speak up for the Palestinian people Hamas uses as human shields.
“We are talking about human rights and about the killing of 600 Palestinians,” he said on France24. “I cry my heart out at night over the [plight] of the Palestinians, but unlike those who say that this is an Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I say that it is a conflict between Israel and Hamas. We must understand this.”
“I don’t understand why Hamas opposes peace in such an insane manner,” he continued. “They reject this. When Egyptian diplomacy intervened and proposed a ceasefire, Hamas rejected it. I’d like to make myself clear: I support Gaza and Palestine. I am against oppression. The Palestinian people are caught between a rock and a hard place: between the Israeli bombardments, on the one hand, and the abuse and siege by Hamas, on the other hand – and the latter is even more terrible. Hamas has been using them as human shields.”
The Hamas combat manual endorses the use of civilian human shields. The manual urges soldiers to use citizens as “pockets of resistance” because the Israeli Defense Forces do not target civilians. If Hamas places soldiers near civilians it will cause problems for the IDF:
(1) Problems with opening fire
(2) Problems in controlling the civilian population during operations and afterward
(3) Assurance of supplying medical care to civilians who need it
The destruction of civilian homes: This increases the hatred of the citizens towards the attackers [the IDF] and increases their gathering [support] around the city defenders (resistance forces[i.e. Hamas]).
Hamas continuously rejects ceasefires offered by other Arab nations. CNN’s Jake Tapper is one of the few in the mainstream media who asks Hamas and Palestinian leaders why ceasefires are spurned. He reminds the men all fighting will stop if they just agree to a ceasefire, but no one can supply him with a sufficient answer. On July 18, he spoke with Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official. The interview lasted over three minutes, and Tapper only asked Hamad one question: Why not agree to a ceasefire? Hamad never answered the question.
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