Hamas, much like the Houthis and the Taliban, appropriate aid, resells it, and deliberately causes famines to profit from them.
By Daniel Greenfield, Frontpage Magazine
When the Biden administration pressured Israel to open up more aid to the Hamas territories, it swore that the aid would not fall into the hands of Hamas.
“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again,” Secretary of State Blinken pledged.
Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer assured CNN that “the president was quite clear that if this assistance goes in, it cannot be misappropriated, it cannot be taken by Hamas fighters and so we are going to be watching that very closely.”
On Halloween, John Kirby, Biden’s national security spokesman, denied anything was going on.
“We have seen no indication, none, that Hamas has gotten their hands on any of the humanitarian assistance that has gone in. None of it. It goes from these U.N. trucks to humanitarian organizations and the U.N. for delivery to the people of Gaza. That’s what we’ve seen with every single one of them,” he claimed.
In late December, an UNRWA official claimed that, “there’s no hijacking of our (UNRWA) supplies by Hamas.” The official then argued that accusations that Hamas was taking aid were a “disinformation campaign” which was “aimed at the very agency trying to help people.”
These kinds of lies go through three stages.
1. It will never happen
2. It’s happening and it’s a good thing
3. How dare you prevent it from happening
There are numberless examples in the political arena, but we’ve now reached stage 3 in the Hamas aid lie.
The Biden administration asked Israel to stop targeting members of the Hamas-run civilian police force who escort aid trucks in Gaza, warning that a “total breakdown of law and order” is significantly exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, three U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
U.S. officials say they are increasingly concerned “that Gaza is turning into Mogadishu” as a security vacuum and desperation have opened the door for armed gangs to attack and loot aid trucks, putting even more pressure on the Strip’s already strained humanitarian system.
Armed gangs? A Total breakdown of law and order? Who exactly do U.S. officials think Hamas is?
Months after the administration lied to our faces and told us over and over again that Hamas would never get the aid, that they won’t put up with it if they do, they redefine Hamas terrorists as members of the local police who are just providing an “escort” for aid trucks and killing them will lead to a “total breakdown of law and order”.
The alternative to a “total breakdown of law and order” is Hamas.
Here’s footage, by the way, of Hamas terrorists providing an escort for aid trucks.
And some more.
Hamas, much like the Houthis and the Taliban, appropriate aid, resell it, and deliberately cause famines in order to profit from them, politically and financially.
We know how it works. We’ve seen it done in country after country.
There’s a larger significance to this messaging. The Biden administration is pivoting to protect Hamas. They’re redefining elements of Hamas as the thin line between anarchy. The “Mogadishu” talking point has been crafted and gone out.
Biden administration officials raised their concerns with their Israeli counterparts and asked that Israel stop targeting the Hamas civilian police as long there is no alternative that could provide security to the aid trucks, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
But Israel rebuffed the request because one of its goals in the war is to ensure that Hamas no longer runs Gaza, two Israeli officials said.
Go figure.