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Palestinians Largely Support Oct. 7 Massacre, Deny Hamas Guilty of War Crimes: Poll
A Palestinian boy reacts next to a burning Israeli vehicle that Palestinian gunmen brought to Gaza after they infiltrated areas of southern Israel, in the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
The vast majority of Palestinians support Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel and do not think the terror group has committed war crimes during its ongoing war with the Jewish state, according to a new poll.
The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found in its latest pubic opinion poll of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank that a striking 72 percent of respondents said Hamas made a “correct” decision to launch its onslaught against Israel.
During the invasion, Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 240 others as hostages, taking them back to Gaza. Hamas’ brutality during the pogrom — which included documented cases of rampant rape and other sexual violence, torture, and beheadings — shocked the world.
Despite the gruesome violence, however, only 10 percent of Palestinians think that Hamas has committed war crimes during the current war, according to the poll. When asked if the terror group, which rules Gaza, was guilty of atrocities “such as the killing of women and children in their homes,” just 16 percent of respondents in Gaza and 1 percent in the West Bank said yes.
Meanwhile, the research found that 95 percent of Palestinians believe Israel has committed war crimes during the ongoing war in Gaza.
Since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, US President Joe Biden and other international partners have been pushing for the renewal of peace talks, with the goal of taking steps toward a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Part of this plan, as Biden administration officials have indicated, would see a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority, which currently governs the West Bank, also take charge in Gaza.
However, 64 percent of Palestinians oppose the PA being a party to any peace talks to determine the future of Gaza, and only 7 percent back a PA led by current President Mahmoud Abbas taking charge of the Palestinian enclave. Even without Abbas in charge, only 16 percent of respondents said they want a PA government taking power.
Conversely — and despite Israeli, American, and European statements that Hamas will have no part in post-war Gaza governance — 60 percent of Palestinians are in favor of the terror group retaining power, the poll found. Specifically, 75 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank expressed support for Hamas retaining control, compared to only 38% in Gaza.
Beyond the immediate region, the poll’s findings show that 87 percent of Palestinians think that the response to the war of the US and other major Western powers, such as the UK, France, and Germany, “show disregard to international humanitarian law.”
Furthermore, 70 percent of respondents said that Western declarations in support of a two-state solution are “not serious.” On that same topic, most Palestinians are opposed to a two-state solution themselves, the poll found, with 34% in favor and 64% opposed. Indeed, a strong majority of Palestinians — 63 percent — said “armed struggle” against Israel is the best way forward to “end occupation and establish an independent state” — an increase of ten percentage points compared to three months ago.
Throughout most of the survey, support for Hamas and its objectives were much higher among Palestinians in the West Bank than in Gaza. For example, when it comes to the overall favorability of Hamas’ rule in Gaza, 85 percent of West Bank Palestinians expressed “satisfaction with the role of Hamas,” compared to just 52 percent of Gazans.
Another disparity between West Bank and Gaza Palestinians can be seen in the support for Hamas leadership, such as Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the terror group’s political bureau who is currently living in Qatar. In a hypothetical election between Abbas and Haniyeh, the latter would easily win in the West Bank, 82 percent to 10 percent, the poll found. In Gaza, Haniyeh would still trounce Abbas, but by a smaller margin: 71 percent to 24 percent. However, overall voter turnout would be only 53 percent.
According to the polling, Marwan Barghouti, a senior member of Abbas’ Fatah political faction, would defeat both men in a hypothetical election and is “the most popular Palestinian figure.”
The newly released poll, which was conducted from Nov. 22-Dec. 2, included a sample size of 1231 adults, of whom 750 were interviewed face to face in the West Bank and 481 in the Gaza Strip in 121 randomly selected locations.
The post Palestinians Largely Support Oct. 7 Massacre, Deny Hamas Guilty of War Crimes: Poll first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.