Thread by @iyad_elbaghdadi

Since many are asking such questions, I'm going to answer. I'm assuming the questions are being asked in good faith and by people who are not malicious but misinformed

https://twitter.com/PhilipRSchiff/status/1719365495806206078

Hamas should release the hostages. Israel should also release Palestinian hostages it holds. Israel has legalized the holding of Palestinians as hostages; this isn't me saying it but Israeli human rights organization @btselem

https://twitter.com/muhammadshehad2/status/1711055986977358084

Those who have followed me long enough know that I've been sharply critical of Hamas for over a decade, and took a lot of shit for it. I'm a human rights activist. I'll never be okay with indiscriminate targeting of people in any context, regardless who's targeting/being targeted

That said, Hamas will never surrender and even if Hamas is somehow ended (which won't happen by military force, I guarantee you that), Palestinian militancy will not end. So long Israel is militarily occupying Palestinians, some Palestinians will militarily oppose it.

Historically even in struggles with major nonviolent resistance movements, there were *always* parallel movements that adopted violent methods. This is just human nature. So long people are violently oppressed, at least *some* will fight back violently.

India/Gandhi? Well within the same context there were also Subhas Chandra Bose etc who fought the British violently. And also allied with the Nazis and the Japanese during WW2, and explicitly admired authoritarianism

South Africa/Mandela? Well a younger Mandela was co-founder of the uMkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC (African National Congress) who fought the apartheid regime violently

MLK/US civil rights struggle? Well at the same time there were groups like the Black Panthers who advocated for self-defense and a militant approach. And other groups who advocated for Black separatism as a response to white supremacy.

I could go on. This is human nature. So long people are violently oppressed, at least *some* will fight back violently. Do you want to speak about the violent oppression itself that required a violent response, or do you want to try to bend human nature? Because you'll fail

And while we're at it, there lived in Gaza a young man who *was* inspired by Gandhi and MLK and *did* attempt to launch a nonviolent resistance mass movement. Israel bombed his house and killed his family, and he's now fighting for his life:

https://twitter.com/AlnaouqA/status/1717674101664325751

And btw that nonviolent resistance mass movement that he launched was called the "Gaza Return March" and Israel faced it by stationing snipers who killed 200+ unarmed Palestinians and maiming 9000+

https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1713817984404201559

Also Gandhi and MLK wouldn't condone state violence as 'self-defense'. They'd urge governments to stop funding Israel and Israelis to reject IDF service. Citing Gandhi and MLK to criticize the weaker side while greenlighting genocide isn’t a valid argument; it's racism.

Bottom line: Any demand for Palestinian militants to lay their arms without a simultaneous demand for Israel to stop oppressing Palestinians will fall on deaf ears and accomplish nothing. Worse, it would be an obscene display of double standards

https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1715485048650993802

People ask me to condemn this or condemn that as though my condemning something will make it vanish into thin air? Most of those asking to condemn have no moral high ground to stand on and have never condemned Israeli occupation and apartheid so I see it as just racism

Summary: Hamas was birthed in the context of a brutal Israeli military occupation and a generations-long denial of rights. It arose within the context of and as a response to Israeli oppression. Ignoring this and saying "this is all Hamas's fault" is willful ignorance (or racism)

So I wrote this entire thread without once mentioning how Netanyahu's explicit policy for nearly a decade was to strengthen Hamas in order to preempt a Palestinian state. Oh shoot, I just mentioned it.

https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1716532746384810234