Hamas exploits Ramadan
Hamas is seeking to exploit the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Instead of observing the month as one of peace and charity, with blessings and fasting, the extremist group is trying to use the lead-up to Ramadan and the month itself to stoke more conflict and war in the region.
Hamas began the recent war by making an unprovoked attack on Israel in which it massacred more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 240.
It continues to hold 134 hostages in Gaza, including young women and children.
Hamas knew when it kidnapped all these people and massacred civilians that it was doing it on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which fell on the holy day of Shabbat.
It chose October 7 in order to desecrate both holy days because Hamas is a terrorist group that thrives on hate and desecration.
Now, Hamas is aiming to do the same to the Islamic holy month.
It is already talking about creating tensions in Jerusalem around prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas is seeking to expand the conflict in Gaza and the suffering there to the West Bank and other parts of the region.
Hamas profits and thrives on war and suffering. Its entire history has been one of using civilians to create disasters for the Palestinians so that a handful of Hamas leaders can profit and prey off the conflict here.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It culminates in the night of Laylat al Qadr, which occurs toward the end of the holy month.
Tragically, in Gaza, Hamas will continue to hold hostages and hold the whole world hostage through its violence, extremism and its systematic attempt to use people as human shields.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who lives comfortably in Qatar, called for Palestinians to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque on the first day of Ramadan because he is trying to ignite a larger war in the region.
“Let our enemy know that souls are boiling… [our] anger is imminent… and an explosion is coming in response to any restrictions on the entry of Muslims to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan,” the group wrote on Telegram.
Hamas has also sought to exploit the hostages it still holds.
They were kidnapped in an act of genocidal cowardice targeting civilians, and the group is now using them to try to get another prisoner deal before Ramadan.
Hamas has sought to exploit the fact it holds young women to achieve this.
It wants a deal in which it will then release the hostages slowly over time during the holy month, parading them for the public as it did in the late November hostage deal, when it purposely humiliated the hostages before releasing them.
It is essential that Hamas not be allowed to ruin Ramadan once again and turn a month of peace into one of suffering.
The terrorist group has always profited from suffering. In the 1990s, it destroyed chances for peace through bombings.
It took over Gaza and destroyed the chances for peace again in 2007.
In 2021, Hamas used Ramadan to create tensions and push towards a war with Israel.
Hamas backers in Iran want to make more wars here because the Islamic Republic also thrives and profits from war.
The more Palestinians are pushed into war, the more Tehran benefits.
It’s time to end the Hamas cynical exploitation of Ramadan.
Instead of catering to Hamas demands, our partners in the region and the West should demand that the heartless terrorist group release all the hostages and that its leaders in Doha stop the extremist rhetoric before the holiday.
If there is a deal before the holy month, it must not be exploited by Hamas to create more suffering.
The hostages should be released as a group, not paraded by their captors.
We need to say with one powerful voice that this evil Hamas group will no longer attack Jews on Jewish holidays and will no longer ruin the lives of Muslims in the region by continuously bringing war to the area.