“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will
obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (Preamble to Hamas
Charter).
The following are examples of hateful rhetoric by Hamas leaders and
officials, as well as language from their charter:
Hamas Leaders and Officials:
Statements by Hamas officials make clear the terrorist organization’s
commitment to destroying Israel and killing Jews and Israelis around the
world.
- Ismail
Haniyeh in 2020: He explained that
Hamas rejects ceasefire agreements by which, “Gaza would become
Singapore,” preferring to remain at war with Israel until a Palestinian
state is established from the River to the Sea: “We cannot, in
exchange for money or projects, give up Palestine and our weapons. We will
not give up the resistance... We will not recognize Israel,
Palestine must stretch from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean]
Sea.”
- Hamas
official, Hamad Al-Regeb in an April 2023 sermon: He prayed
for “annihilation” and “paralysis” of the Jews whom he described
as filthy animals: “[Allah] transformed them into filthy, ugly animals
like apes and pigs because of the injustice and evil they had brought
about.”
- Hamas
Political Bureau Chairman Saleh Al-Arouri in an August 2023 interview:
He expressed Hamas’ desire for “total war” with Israel:
“Therefore, we are convinced that if a total conflict begins, the airspace
and seaports of this entity will be shut down, and they will not be able
to live without electricity, water, and communications.”
- Ahmad
Abd Al-Hadi (Hamas representative in Lebanon) in an October 12, 2023 TV
show laid out Hamas’ expectation that it would be Israel that would sue
for peace and indicated that a ceasefire is part of Hamas’
overall strategy, but said that he was not at liberty to say
what exactly Hamas has planned for the next step after a ceasefire.
- Hamas
member, Ghazi Hamad on
October 24, 2023: “Israel is a country that has no place on our land […]
because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to
the Arab and Islamic nation.” (October 24, 2023, LBC TV (Lebanon)). He
also vowed to repeat the October 7 attacks “time and again until Israel is
annihilated,” and expressing a desire to “sacrifice
martyrs” (referring to Gazan civilians) for Hamas’ ideological aim of
destroying Israel.
- In
a speech before the
International Union of Muslim Scholars in Doha on January 9, 2024, Ismaeel
Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas's political bureau, called the October 7
massacre the “advanced [battle] front of the Ummah.” Calling for
“financial jihad” (donations to Hamas) and “jihad of the teeth” (physical
jihad), he asked the international audience, “Who wishes to invest in
building the jihadist generation to liberate Jerusalem and to unite the
blood of the Ummah with the blood of the people of Gaza, Jerusalem, and
Palestine on the land of Palestine for its liberation and the liberation
of Jerusalem?”
Statements by Hamas officials also make clear the terrorist
organization’s disregard for the loss of civilian life not only in Israel but
also in Gaza.
- Hamas
senior leader Khaled Mashal stated on October 19, 2023 that he
views the current loss of civilian life in Gaza – brought about by Hamas'
strategy of using human shields –
as essential: “No nation is liberated without sacrifices... In all
wars, there are some civilian victims. We are not responsible for them.”
- Hamas
senior leader Ismail Haniyeh, commenting on the
loss of civilian life in Gaza on October 26, 2023: “The blood of
the women, children and elderly […] we are the ones who need this blood,
so it awakens within us the revolutionary spirit.”
