One of the strangest contradictions about many Hamas leaders is their tendency to incite Arab populations to chaos while they reside in luxurious hotels thousands of kilometers away from Gaza. While these leaders fill their stomachs with sumptuous meals, the people of Gaza starve, some even dying by the roadside for lack of a single piece of bread to survive. Khalil Al-Hayya’s recent statement, in which he incited against the Arab and Islamic worlds and directed accusations at Egypt and its leadership, serves as a favor to Israel.
It reflects neither reason nor wisdom. This man, now a prominent leader of Hamas, does not share in the fear and terror experienced by the people of Gaza every time an Israeli bomb strikes. Al-Hayya and his associates busy themselves with endless negotiations, guided by the principle of “life is negotiations” invented by Saeb Erekat in 2008. This principle reflects a strategy of exploiting the suffering of the people for personal or political gain, rather than working in the best interest of the nation. Accordingly, the current and historical Palestinian suffering can be measured.
The so-called “Al-Aqsa Flood” came at a time when Arab states, and much of the international community, were intensifying efforts to advance the two-state solution. Today, that goal feels more distant than ever. Israel has begun annexing parts of the West Bank, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly declared his intention to annex areas of the Gaza Strip.
This amounts to a death sentence for the prospect of a Palestinian state. Many questions continue to surround the true purpose of the October 7, 2023 operation, and whether it genuinely aimed to support the Palestinian cause. Wasn’t that attack, in effect, a lifeline for Benjamin Netanyahu by rescuing him from mounting legal troubles in the courts?
Didn’t it serve to strengthen the narrative of the extremist Zionist movement and its vision of establishing a “Greater Israel”? These are legitimate questions, especially for those who share in the suffering of the people of Gaza. Wasn’t the October 2023 operation, in reality, a political maneuver aimed at extending the tenure of Israel’s prime minister while paving the way for the displacement of Gaza’s population as a prelude to erasing the Palestinian presence from their homeland?
Why this incitement today against Egypt and the surrounding Arab states, especially at such a critical and sensitive moment? Could it be part of a new chapter in the unfolding of the so-called “New Middle East,” a concept reignited in 2011 through the “Arab Spring”?
At that time, groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad were among the main beneficiaries, as they played a role in fueling chaos in the Arab world. This turmoil diverted global attention away from the Palestinian cause, while the first chapter of the “Arab Spring” ultimately collapsed. In the recent war, many facts have come to light, revealing numerous mercenaries and spies planted by Israel in the highest positions in all organizations and countries within the so-called “Axis of Resistance.”
Could it be that someone pressured Sinwar and other Hamas leaders into committing this crime? It has become clear that Hamas and its Iranian proxies aim to ignite the countries surrounding Israel to advance the project of establishing a Jewish state, ultimately erasing the Palestinian cause forever and weakening the Arab states amid Tehran’s efforts to reassert control over some Arab capitals. Therefore, I can affirm that Khalil Al-Hayya’s statements represent a deadly poison targeting all those who support Palestine, particularly Gaza.
