Hamas rejects "Human Rights Watch" report as biased, deceptive

Hamas has strongly rejected the recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), accusing the organization of spreading falsehoods and blatant bias towards the Israeli Occupation. Hamas demanded that HRW retract the report and issue an apology.

In a statement released Wednesday, Hamas criticized the HRW report for fully adopting the Israeli Occupation's narrative and deviating from objective research and neutral legal positions, likening it to propaganda for the Occupation.

The statement highlighted that the report began with an emotionally charged account of an "Israeli" settler injured in the events of October 7, 2023, and ended with a story about a woman psychologically affected by the events. It did not, however, address the extensive suffering endured by the Palestinian people in Gaza, including death, destruction, starvation, and unimaginable pain, reinforcing a notion of racial discrimination.

Hamas pointed out that over 120,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured to date, with hospitals, universities, schools, and infrastructure destroyed. Despite the ongoing crimes supported by the US and the West, the report failed to mention this widespread devastation.

The movement also criticized HRW for starting the narrative on October 7, ignoring the long history of wars, killings, torture, and blockades faced by the Palestinian people.

Hamas emphasized that the Palestinian people, suffering under an occupation that is the root of all evils, have the right to resist by all means. The occupier does not have the right to self-defense, as stated in divine laws and international agreements.

The statement further criticized the HRW report for describing alleged crimes committed by Palestinian factions on October 7, while deliberately ignoring the atrocities committed by the Israeli Occupation forces against Gaza's residents and even against "Israeli" civilians, who were bombed along with Palestinian fighters by "Israeli" aircraft and tanks.

Hamas noted that the report's authors showed inhumane bias when discussing captives held by the Palestinian resistance, emphasizing their immediate release and urging countries like Qatar, Turkey, and Iran to pressure the Palestinian resistance for their release. In contrast, the report did not call for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including men, women, and children, who suffer from torture, death, starvation, and humiliation in "Israeli" prisons. The report even justified the Israeli Occupation's detention of these individuals by labeling them as suspects involved in the October 7 attacks.

The report falsely accused Palestinian fighters of committing acts of torture and mistreatment against the individuals they captured, including those taken as hostages. Hamas countered that anyone who saw the released "Israeli" captives and their treatment by the Palestinian resistance or heard their statements to the media would recognize the lies in the HRW report. The report also ignored the dire conditions of Palestinian prisoners held by the Israeli Occupation.

Hamas condemned the report for spreading baseless allegations of rape and sexual violence, without providing any credible evidence. HRW admitted in the report that it could not verify such claims through interviews with victims or witnesses and that the "Israeli" government did not provide the requested information.

Hamas found it astonishing that HRW insisted on condemning the resistance for sexual assault allegations without any evidence, as acknowledged in the report.

The movement affirmed its commitment to values and principles derived from Islam and respect for international humanitarian law, noting the heavy price the Palestinian people continue to pay due to the violation and disregard of international law by the Israeli Occupation and its supporters.

Hamas stated that it does not claim infallibility for itself or for all Palestinian factions and is willing to review any misconduct and hold accountable those who deviate from its values after the conflict ends.

Hamas reiterated the right of the Palestinian people and their resistance forces to fight for the liberation of Palestinian land.

The movement held Human Rights Watch fully responsible for the report, which justifies the Israeli Occupation's crimes and enables their continuation, damaging HRW's credibility and harming the Palestinian people and their resistance forces. Hamas called on the organization to withdraw the report and apologize for it.