By Taghreed Saadeh
When the debate continues despite everything happening in Gaza despite the fact that displacement has succeeded, directly or implicitly, as a result of the events of October 7, and despite the devastation that has turned the Strip into an almost entirely occupied zone, while part of it remains under Hamas’s rule, the very movement that brought the situation to this point, it becomes necessary to rethink the full picture.
Many still insist that anyone who criticizes Hamas is a traitor, failing to understand that safeguarding the Palestinian Authority, this essential national component, is the core issue, not a defense of individuals accused of corruption.
Corruption exists in Fatah, in Hamas, in the Popular Front, and even within the Initiative. There is plenty to be said on this matter. But the exclusive focus on Fatah, and the collective attacks on it as if it were the only “deviant” movement, is precisely what makes defending it a defense of the national project, not of corruption.
What is truly disheartening is that many fail to recognize that the division did not begin today but in 2007, when Hamas created a deep vertical fracture within Palestinian society, labeling people as either “resistance fighters” or “collaborators.” Persisting in this approach without scrutiny reflects a narrow vision among those who attack the Authority, ignoring the value of its national achievements despite all that is said in the media, much of which is inaccurate or politically driven.
More troubling still is that every attempt to correct the narrative or clarify is met with waves of accusations, verbal attacks, and allegations of betrayal. Public discourse has sunk to an unprecedented low due to the dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology and its media apparatus. Despite the weakness of its rhetoric, its unchecked control over the public sphere has led many to believe its narratives, even though many of its claims against Fatah, the Authority, or other opponents lack any factual basis.
This rigidity of thought, reflects widespread media illiteracy and a profound inability to distinguish truth from inflated falsehoods, after minds have been overwhelmed by the relentless flood of propaganda.
Everyone has the right to hold an opinion, but adopting a ready-made narrative that spreads accusations of treason without restraint is both shocking and dangerous. Justifying everything by resorting to the Muslim Brotherhood’s discourse, represented by Hamas, and offering excuses for the movement without acknowledging the immense harm it has inflicted on the Palestinian national project, is in itself an obscuring of the truth.
The starting point is the military coup in Gaza, a wound for which the Palestinian people paid the price while Hamas consolidated power, ruled unilaterally, and received the facilitation that enabled its project. Even the Israeli occupation itself has openly acknowledged supporting Hamas in past phases to serve as an alternative to the Palestinian national project. So how do some still imagine that this support was given to a “resistance movement”? This confusion alone is enough to show that we are facing a profound crisis of awareness.
The confusion we live in today requires a serious dialogue among Palestinian intellectuals to reframe key concepts, protect the national project, and safeguard a society torn apart by political ignorance, lack of engagement, and a public sphere dominated by populist narratives that confront truth only with the Brotherhood’s version of reality.
Protecting the national Palestinian narrative, insulating society from further fragmentation, and returning to the true liberation project begin with the courage to confront misleading narratives, to restore reason, and to uphold the national interest above individuals and factions toward a homeland that deserves clearer vision and deeper understanding.
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