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Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 18 • 11 tweets • 5 min read Twitter logo

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December 2021: Israeli tanks go 100-200 meters inside Gaza to raze a strawberry farm while a Hamas militant prevents farmers from attacking the Israelis. How come?

🧵Explaining the Israeli-Hamas "ceasefire understandings" & why Israel never went for a formal ceasefire agreement

2\ The Israeli-Hamas "understandings" were brokered by Egypt, Qatar & UN

Hamas polices Israel's siege from the inside, prevents by force anyone from attacking Israel during periods of calm in return for Israel alleviating the blockade

Israel only partially fulfilled its promise

3\ Many attempts & proposals were made to cement "the calm" & establish a formal permanent ceasefire that'd see a mutual full cessation of hostilities in return for lifting the siege on Gaza

Israel killed the Hamas leader advancing this deal in 2012 & turned down later proposals

4\ In return for maintaining calm, Israel only gave Gazans occasional crumbs of mercy: e.g allowing 17,000 people to work in Israel, Qatari cash aid..

Gazans call these "sedatives" b/c Israel maintains "we won't allow real & long-term development in Gaza"
maariv.co.il/news/military/…

5\ The situation in Gaza continued to be dire: a permanent state of non-life where the majority of the population are unemployed & living beneath the poverty line.

Israel's occasional crumbs of mercy were a tool of blackmail: e.g. keep quiet or we will re-close the fishing zone.

6\ Israel's gov perfectly understood the only way to end Gaza's plight & get more sustainable calm would be to lift the blockade & go for a formal ceasefire.

An Israeli minister proposed re-opening Gaza's airport & seaport under int. supervision. Netanyahu turned him down...

7\ One reason why Israel never went for a permanent ceasefire was that it dehumanized Gaza so much & for so long that the only acceptable way to discuss Gaza became in terms of strength & deterrence.

Israeli politicians would only compete in terms of who can be tougher on Gaza!

8\ Israel's gov also had strategic gaols of keeping Gaza on the brink & under Hamas' control, to:

Use Gaza as a scarecrow to kill any discussion about ending its occupation in the West Bank. "If we leave, Hamas will take over like in Gaza"

To push Gazans to leave permanently!

9\ Even the informal Israel-Hamas "understanding" was violated repeatedly
Israel kept shooting at farmers & fishermen almost daily

Israel kept flying fighter jets & predator drones equipped with rockets 24/7 inside Gaza with an unbearable buzzing noise that gets loudest at night

10\ Israel kept heavily restricting Gaza's imports & exports & banning people from going in/out of Gaza except for very few humanitarian exceptions.

"We allow them to keep their heads above water, but not beyond that" Israel's defence minister 2018
makorrishon.co.il/news/12431/

11\ Whenever a violent escalation erupted, mediators would rush to Gaza to restore calm & go back to the "understandings". A formal ceasefire was NEVER finalized.

That very calm was always inherently violent for Gaza's population; a slow death & permanent state of non-life.

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More from @muhammadshehad2

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 18

🧵There was NEVER a *ceasefire agreement* before Oct 7. Israel even killed a Hamas leader who advanced a permanent ceasefire proposal!

There was only a brokered "understanding": Hamas maintains calm in return for Israel alleviating its siege, a promise that was broken repeatedly

2\ Pre-Oct 7 status quo:
In return for a promise of alleviating the blockade, Hamas was tasked with preventing (even by force) anyone from attacking Israel during periods of quiet, even with incendiary balloons.

Hamas' "field control" unit arrested many who disrupted calm

3\ The "understandings" or "mutual deterrence" worked so well for Israel, its tanks would go a 100-200 meters INSIDE Gaza to raze farms close to the fence with ZERO fear.

Hamas militants would actively prevent farmers from attacking the Israelis to maintain "the calm".

Read 7 tweets

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 15

Israel has turned al-Shifa into a detention center🧵
Dozens of activists & refugees were arbitrarily detained, stripped naked, blindfolded & placed as human shields between Israeli tanks.

Not tunnels or hostages found! Not a single bullet was fire at the IDF from the hospital.

2\ Anything that moves inside the emergency building is shot at by the IDF.

A warehouse was reportedly bombed; it had medicines & medical devices.

Soldiers are rampaging through the specialised surgeries building; tearing down walls.

3\ Male refugees & activists are treated as suspects automatically; some were kidnapped & taken to unknown locations; some were interrogated, stripped, tied, blindfolded & placed in the hospital's entrance in the cold & rain.

IDF is calling on male refugees to "surrender".

Read 6 tweets

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 14

🚨 Israel bombed the al-Shifa hospital then lied about it 🧵

NYTimes now confirms identifying an Israeli illumination shell & multiple 120mm HEAT shells fired by Israeli tanks at al-Shifa.

At least 7 people were killed; a War Crime!

NEVER TAKE ISRAELI CLAIMS AT FACE VALUE!

2\ Israel immediately blamed a "misfired Hamas rocket" fired in a western direction for the explosions at al-Shifa.

But the NYTimes says footage shows shells hit the hospital from the north & south NOT the West.

The courtyard, maternity building & outpatient clinic were hit.

3\ Israel has been trying a variety of criminal tactics to forcibly empty al-Shifa of the refugees sheltering there.

They cut water, food, fuel & bombed solar panels; surrounded the area with tanks & troops; & shelled the hospital to terrorize people!

Read 4 tweets

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 14

Left: Israel posted this PR picture with a disabled elderly Gazan, Bashir Hajji (75), bragging about their "humanity"

Right: Bashir's body was discovered right after, killed with 2 shots to the head & back, per his granddaughter

"He died tired, cold, thirsty & hungry" she wrote

2\ Bashir (75) was trying to evacuate South on foot, as ordered by Israel, but he can't walk properly

His granddaughter says IDF soldiers fired at fleeing Gazans, prompting them to disperse & Bashir was left behind

She called him & he was on his own, terrified & unable to move

3\ Bashir's granddaughter told him to wait & hide in a building until help arrives

She reached out to the Red Cross & Red Crescent, but none were allowed by Israel to access this area.

Her uncle almost made it there, but the IDF got to him 1st, took the pic, then killed Bashir!

Read 4 tweets

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 14

Genocidal pop culture is going viral in Israel🧵
This, singing along with IDF soldiers:

"We've turned you into Kebab
Hide animals!
We have bombs & explosives
Where is your great Muhammad?
He will not save you this time!”

2\ A casual party in Israel:

"We will destroy Gaza... We won't leave any there. We will not leave a Palestinian behind. They will go to the afterlife"

PS. The melody is stolen/appropriated from Arab/Palestinian music!

3\ An Israeli restaurant brags about turning Gaza into a MEAT STEW & calls on Israelis to enjoy themselves with beer while Gaza is being flattened!

"A moment before we turn Gaza into Tshulnt (meat stew)... Let's close this tense week calmly, around a plate of Tshulnt & beer."

Read 6 tweets

Muhammad Shehada

@muhammadshehad2

Nov 13

Not a Borat Sketch! The IDF Spokesman points to a random calendar at the Rantisi hospital as "evidence" of a "hostage keepers' list" with "terrorists' names".

But the ONLY thing on that "list" is literally the days of the week (Saturday-Friday).

No tunnels, no weapon stash...🧵

https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/1724164040304234555

2\ Israel couldn't find any tunnels or weapons at the hospital, so they made up a new lie of "hostages were kept in the hospital's basement".

But how were those hostages transported out when IDF soldiers & tanks have been fully surrounding that hospital?

https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/1724164040304234555

3\ The women's clothes, diapers, milk & improvised toilet are b/c 1000s of civilians sought shelter at the hospital.

The curtains are for video conferences & media appearances in that MEETING ROOM.

Again, if hostages were there, how were they moved out in front of your tanks?