NGO Monitor had an interesting article about how self-styled “human rights” groups such as Amnesty International whitewashed or justified the atrocities committed by Hamas militants against civilians in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip yesterday:
On October 7, 2023 (which was the Sabbath and a Jewish holiday), hundreds of Palestinian terrorists poured across the border from Gaza into Israel, slaughtering hundreds of Jews, and torturing, maiming, and kidnapping others. Gaza Palestinians also engaged in public desecration of victims’ bodies. In parallel, thousands of rockets were fired at Israeli population centers, sending millions rushing to shelters.
Every one of these attacks constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which should have brought immediate condemnation from the human rights community.
Instead, NGOs that routinely and forcefully condemn Israel blamed the victims, whitewashed the terrorists, and exploited the attacks to repeat the campaign accusing Israel of “apartheid” and other lies. Amnesty International declared, “The Israeli government must refrain from inciting violence and tensions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, especially around religious sites.” As of October 8 at 4pm (Israel time), Human Rights Watch had not issued a statement, but, in posts on social media (X/Twitter), a senior official referred to the attacks as “resistance to apartheid and oppression” and bashed the United States for its policies toward Israel and in the region….
In addition, a number of NGOs claiming to promote human rights actually supported the attacks. The US-based Center for Constitutional Rights posted a statement titled “Israeli Colonial Domination Is Necessary Context to Palestinian Resistance.” Masar Badil and Samidoun, two NGOs linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, called on people around the world to “support” and “defend” the Palestinian “resistance”; the latter’s branch in Germany distributed candies to celebrate the attacks.
Armed militants sent by Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip southwest of Israel, did not simply kill Israeli civilians, but also killed foreign visitors, such as those attending a peace festival in Israel near the border with Gaza: “Hamas flew terrorists into a music festival with 1000s of young people. They killed hundreds: encircled them, sprayed gunfire, and hunted down those who ran. They seized dozens of women, raped and tortured them, then executed many and took others to Gaza.” “It was a ‘Rave for Peace’ festival near Gaza. Maybe this isn’t how you get peace,” notes law professor Randy Barnett. Wilfred Reilly points out that the “women that were most prominently kidnapped and raped by Hamas fighters were attendees at a rave/festival devoted to Palestinian/Israeli peace.” And “the woman whose body was seen on video in the back of a truck driven by Palestinian terrorists to Gaza has been identified. 30 yr old Shani Louk was a German citizen visiting Israel to attend the music festival for peace held near the Gaza border fence.” Her arms and legs were reportedly broken before she died. In one video, “A Palestinian, in civilian clothes, gleefully crushes the head of a foreign citizen wounded by a gunshot – apparently a Filipino – with a hoe. again and again and again.”
A left-wing writer for Teen Vogue and NBC wrote that such killings are simply part of the necessary but messy process of “decolonization,” which requires the killing of civilians—the men, women, and children deemed “colonizers,” such as Jews present in Palestine (Israel). A coalition of progressive groups at Harvard similarly justified the atrocities.
Hamas confirmed that Iran provided the weapons it used in its attack on Israel. “We thank the Islamic Republic of Iran who provided us with weapons, money and other equipment! He gave us missiles to destroy Zionist fortresses, and helped us with standard anti-tank missiles!”
Iran was able to budget money for such weapons because Biden freed up billions of dollars worth of sanctioned oil for Iran. The Biden administration also paid a $6 billion ransom for five U.S. hostages, greatly improving Iran’s financial position and making it more affordable for Iran to use its other sources of cash to pay for terrorism and aggression. That works out to $1.2 billion paid to Iran for each hostage released. As former State Department official Gabriel Noronha points out, “Three years ago,” an Iranian Revolutionary Guard “Commander said they could balance their budget by getting a billion each for American hostages. Well, Biden just gave Iran $1.2 billion each for five.”
As Bradley Thompson notes, “Last month the Biden Administration gave $6B to Iran (which supports Hamas) & just days ago quietly gave $75M to the Palestinian Authority” including Hamas. Now we learn that the Taliban are using the $8B in American army hardware that Biden left behind to support Hamas!”
