Palestinian Resistance factions condemn HRW report on October 7

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Palestinian factions media offices
17 Jul 2024 22:44
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The HRW publishes a biased report concerning October 7, 2023, lacking professionalism or scientific methodology, which the Resistance factions demand an apology for.

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Members of Palestinian Resistance factions hold a press conference against the aggressive Israeli policies on worshippers in al-Aqsa Mosque, at the main square in Gaza City, Palestine, on July 18, 2017. (AP)

Hamas and other Palestinian Resistance factions rejected the "biased" Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, demanding the organization apologize and withdraw the report.

HRW accused Palestinian Resistance fighters of committing war crimes, including sexual violence on October 7, 2023, during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which al-Qassam Brigades launched in response to the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and the desecration of religious sites.

Hamas said in a statement that the HRW report echoes the "lies told" by Israelis at the start of the war on Gaza to justify their war crimes against Palestinians.

It said that these claims, originally perpetuated by Israeli media outlets, were later retracted after their falsity was exposed. This involves claims such as sexual violence.

Hamas explained that the HRW report adopted "the entire Israeli false narrative and strayed from scientific and research-based methodology," which made the report seem more like an "Israeli propaganda document."

Racial discrimination, unverified claims, ahistorical analysis

The Islamic Resistance movement pointed to the fact that the HRW's report began with a "dramatic" story of an Israeli settler who suffered burn wounds on October 7 and concluded by discussing the case of a woman who suffered psychological torment. It said that in the entirety of the report, HRW did not discuss much more visible forms of violence executed by Israeli occupation forces, including the killing and wounding of more than 120,000 Palestinians to date, not to mention the complete destruction of hospitals, universities, schools, and infrastructure.

It said that the report expresses "racial discrimination", not finding any of the Israeli crimes "worth mentioning".

The Resistance movement also pointed to the narrative adopted by HRW, which considers October 7 to be the source of the ongoing fighting, neglecting the decades-long suffering of the Palestinian people.

"Our people, who suffer from occupation have the right to resist by all means, and the occupying aggressor does not have the right to self-defense," Hamas said in reference to international law that guarantees occupied peoples' right to resistance.

Hamas also highlighted the fact that the report failed to mention that Israeli occupation forces killed multiple of their own settlers in the Gaza Envelope, which has been confirmed by government-level investigations, media reports, and the confessions of Israeli pilots.

The statement also stressed the HRW's unverified claims of the perpetuation of sexual violence by Resistance fighters. The report itself affirmed that HRW was unable to verify information of sexual violence against Israelis, however, it was quick to condemn the Resistance for these acts.

Moreover, Hamas pointed to its humane treatment of Israeli captives, rejecting HRW reports of torture and ill-treatment of released settlers.

Hamas: We do not claim infallibility

The statement concluded by stressing that the movement does "not claim infallibility" for itself or the Palestinian people. Hamas said it is "always ready to review any wrong behavior - if any - and hold accountable those who deviate from our values."

However, it said that it will not allow for lies to be perpetuated against Palestinians and their Resistance.

Hamas affirmed its commitment to a system of values governed by the Islamic religion and respect for international humanitarian law.

It held HRW fully responsible for the report that justifies Israeli crimes, the continuity of the Israeli government's occupation of Palestine, and harms the reputation of the Resistance and the Palestinian people.

"Therefore, we call on it to withdraw it and apologize for it," Hamas asserted.

Palestinian Resistance factions blast HRW's biased report

Multiple Palestinian Resistance factions condemned the report for its biased content, reiterating Hamas' calls to HRW to withdraw it and issue an apology.

The Popular Resistance Committees, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) were among those calling for the report's withdrawal.

HRW had accused five Palestinian factions' armed wings of war crimes, including those of Hamas, PIJ, PFLP, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The PIJ rejected the HRW claims of Resistance factions committing war crimes on October 7 and condemned the organization's disregard for multiple reports conducted by research-based and media institutions.

"The report blatantly shows its bias towards the Zionist side by willfully ignoring the suffering of the Palestinian people before October 7th and the genocidal war against them afterward," it explained.

"We in the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, reaffirming our complete commitment to adhering to the values of our noble religion, as evidenced by our treatment of the prisoners in our custody, hold Human Rights Watch responsible for the lies and fabrications contained in its report," the movement concluded.

The DFLP's media office said that the front did not receive any questions or requests for comments by HRW before being publicly accused of facilitating war crimes.

It said that the publisher's approach to the issue is "an arbitrary act lacking the minimum level of objectivity and professionalism, characterized by hasty and openly biased judgments and conclusions."