Hamas 1.5 - Hamas Commander Accused of Gay Sex is Killed by his Own

“A TV program showed last year set in the West Bank and Gaza called “Out of Focus.” It was

meant to be a comedy about a group of gay people living in Gaza.  People demonstrated en

mass in the streets and called for the actors’ imprisonment, and the producers were called in for questioning by the Palestinian Authorities in Ramallah for breaking Islamic law. It was taken off the air for being an offense against Islam simply for having LGBT characters. Can you imagine, then, the treatment of LGBT persons living under that threat?   Ramallah is the capital of the West Bank where there are no LGBT organizations or public meeting places. Even Uganda has LGBT organizations.  The Palestinian lands do have something in common with Uganda — some LGBT people escape frightened for their lives.” - https://epgn.com/2019/08/22/some-palestinians-don-t-forget-to-kill-the-homosexuals

The anti-Israel and antisemitic gay demonstrations were spearheaded by a gay British “anti-colonialist” named Owen Jones, who tweeted “Oh by the way, it wasn’t actually Hamas who introduced the law banning homosexuality in Gaza. Guess who it was? The Briitish Empire. Same sex sexual activity is prohibited in Gaza under the British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance 1936”

This tweet by this twit went viral in the LGBTQ+ community. In spite of the fact that in 140

words he completely messed up the facts.

Firstly, the British Mandate for Palestine ended on May 14, 1948 along with any laws

promulgated by the British Authority.

Secondly, Hamas’s attitude toward homosexuality comes not from the British, but from

their fundamentalist Islamism (just as Britain’s formerly homophobic laws were inspired by

conservative Christianity). As Hamas strategist Mahmoud Al-Zahar told Reuters in 2010,

“You [in the West] do not live like human beings. You do not even live like animals. You

accept homosexuality. And now you criticize us?”

According to Alexander Von Sternberg, "Islamic homophobia is an issue that goes beyond terrorist groups like Hamas. While the Quran’s language regarding homosexual and bisexual behavior is somewhat ambiguous, the hadith, the canonical sayings and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, contain many straightforward prohibitions. In practice, this results in the persecution of LGBT people in both official and extrajudicial ways throughout the Muslim world. LGBT Palestinians face extreme ostracism, sometimes fleeing as refugees or even being kidnapped and beheaded. The authorities also ban the activities of LGBT rights groups. -https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/british-imperialism-didnt-cause-palestinian-homophobia

According to UN Watch, “The Palestinian Authority and Hamas routinely torture human rights activists, women, LGBT persons.”

In July 2022, UN Watch submitted a report to the UN. The NGO reported, LGBTQ persons living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas control suffer “severe persecution and ostracism.”Gay Palestinians who managed to escape recount harrowing torture by PA and Hamas forces,including often successful attempts to coerce them to inform on others, forced marriages, and death threats.

“They arrested me, hanged me from the ceiling, beat me up and interrogated me for five days,” said a gay Gaza Palestinian now living in exile in Turkey.

“Everyone is afraid of everyone. Some have been punished, some have been killed. Others

killed themselves,” said another gay man from Gaza. - https://unwatch.org/rights-group-exposes-palestinian-

torture-ahead-of-first-un-review

In spite of the fact that many Israeli high tech companies have offices in Ireland and provide

employment to thousands of irish hi tech personnel, the Irish government is an outspoken, if not anti-Semitic critic of Israel. However, The Irish Times wrote an interesting article in March 2016 titled....

"Hamas commander accused of gay sex is killed by his own. Death of Mahmoud Ishtiwi has become the talk of the town in conservative Gaza"

"The death of Mahmoud Ishtiwi had all the trappings of a telenovela: sex, torture and embezzlement in Gaza's most venerated and secretive institution, the armed wing of Hamas. Ishtiwi (34) was a commander from a storied family of Hamas loyalists who, during the 2014 war with Israel, was responsible for 1,000 fighters and a network of attack tunnels.

Last month, his former comrades executed him with three bullets to the chest.

Adding a layer of scandal to the story, he was accused of moral turpitude, by which Hamas meant homosexuality. And there were whispers that he had carved the word “zulum” – wronged – into his body in a desperate kind of last testament. His death has become the talk of the town in the conservative quarters of Gaza, the Palestinian coastal territory, endlessly discussed in living rooms, at checkpoints and in cabs. But to astute Gaza observers, this was more substantive than a soap opera.

Ishtiwi, who is survived by two wives and three children, was not the first member of Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, to be killed by his own. What was unprecedented was the way his relatives spoke out publicly about it.

The family was considered Hamas royalty for having sheltered leaders wanted by Israel, including Mohammed Deif, the Qassam commander-in-chief lionised by Palestinians. Ishtiwi's mother even sent Deif, who has lost an eye and limbs but has survived repeated assassination attempts by Israel, a tearful video message in which she entreated him to release her son.

Ibrahim al-Madhoun, a writer close to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, said thesituation spotlighted shifts since Yehya Sinwar was elected in 2012 to represent Qassam in Hamas' political wing, a role akin to defence minister. Sinwar's actions, he said, showed that even senior figures were not sacrosanct.

“He is harsher than other leaders – he wants his army to be pure,” al-Madhoun said in an interview.

“Those who are in the Qassam are the most important people in Gaza. There is a need, they say, to show that these people are not untouchable.”

The article continues to show in graphic detail how this Hamas commander was tortured and murdered. - https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/hamas-commander-accused-of-gay-sex-is-killed-by-his-own-

June 2024 is the Gay Pride Month in Israel. Perhaps organizers can arrange a few busloads of the LGBTQ+ "River to the Sea" demonstrators to visit some of the sites between the river and the sea.

Not the sites where the massacres took place, but the sites where they can really experience what it is to be gay and pro-Hamas at the same time.

RIVER TO THE SEA PRIDE BUS TOUR

DAY 1: Visit quaint markets and mosques in Ramallah, Jenin, Qalqilyah, Nablus, Tulqarim, and Hebron. Meet with police officials, imams and militia leaders from various factions.

DAY 2; Venture to Khan Yunis and Rafah. Visit apartment buildings where gay men are hanged from the rooftops. Afternoon on the beaches of Gush Katif.

DAY 3: Visit Golan Winery before heading to New Quneitra, Damascus and the picturesque Bequa’a Valley for an evening of fireworks entertainment.