A Hamas spokesman admitted to Russia Today that the terrorist group built tunnels underneath Gaza to protect its own members, not Palestinian civilians — whom he said it was not Hamas’s job to protect but rather that of Israel and the United Nations.
The stunning admission by a Hamas representative — who has been given op-ed space in western newspapers in years past — proves what Israel has been saying: that the organization does not care about Palestinian civilians and only acts to protect itself.
The October 27 interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which noted (emphasis removed):
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau said in an October 27, 2023 interview that aired on Russia Today TV that the tunnels in Gaza were built to protect Hams fighters from airstrikes, not civilians. He added that Hamas fights Israel from within the tunnels. Abu Marzouq added that since 75% of the residents in the Gaza Strip are refugees, it is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect them. He added that according to the Geneva Conventions, it is the responsibility of the “occupation” to provide civilians in Gaza “will all the services,” as long as they are under occupation.
Gaza has not been under “occupation” since 2005, when it withdrew all of its soldiers and settlers from the territory.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
