By Taghreed Saadeh
Criticizing the Islamic movement Hamas, which belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, does not mean that we are against Palestinian resistance or the liberation of our land. On the contrary, we support Palestinian national liberation and an independent Palestinian national project, not international agendas crossing borders.
Hamas emerged from the roots of the Muslim Brotherhood, and in this regard, it is no different from other groups within the same ideological school, such as Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS, all of which operate within an international ideological framework rather than a national one. The Muslim Brotherhood, as a parent organization, has contributed to projects that served U.S. strategies, one of the most significant outcomes being the weakening of Arab national states, as happened in several Arab countries. These are well-known examples.
The international community has treated Hamas as a fait accompli following its coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. If this community, which fundamentally works in favor of the Israeli occupation, viewed Hamas as a real obstacle to its plans or found it noncompliant with regional agendas, it could have neutralized it politically or militarily “with the stroke of a pen.” The rise of the Brotherhood in Palestine, represented by Hamas, occurred with international support, particularly from the U.S. and Israel, to obstruct the Palestinian national project and create an alternative, not a partner. Europe, which supported Hamas in the past, now calls for its complete removal from the Palestinian scene and is working to limit the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in its own countries.
Occupying Palestinians with the internal division for two decades has directly served Israel and destabilized the Palestinian political and societal landscape. If the international community had intended to resolve this division from the start, it could have, but it allowed it to persist because it served the occupation’s interests.
Hamas will remain a movement with a non-national and non-Palestinian project, working for the Muslim Brotherhood, not the Palestinian people as a whole, but for the “Brotherhood-affiliated Palestinian” only. Ignoring this threat has been, and continues to be, a fundamental cause of the internal Palestinian tragedy.
The image of Hamas as the “Palestinian resistance” has been reinforced through a wide Brotherhood-controlled media network, notably Al Jazeera, which remains a major source of internal Palestinian division, deliberately diverting attention from the essence of the conflict.
Many of those who supported Hamas, whether from within the PLO or certain leftist circles, did so out of personal interest, and some are themselves linked to corruption cases. True nationalists are uncompromised and work for Palestine, not for positions or financial gain. This deliberate confusion, and the equating of support for Hamas with patriotism, is one of the greatest sources of disorientation in the Palestinian arena.
The Palestinian left, over the past three decades, has often been more opportunistic than principled, acting as if Palestine were “its own domain,” unlike in the early years of the Palestinian revolution.
Corruption exists among individuals, and some who champion anti-corruption do so believing it grants them moral credibility, as if others are innocent. In Palestinian society, this assumption is entirely inaccurate.
Many media analysts appear on screens to express political stances rather than to provide information or analysis, which is why “the compass is lost.” Many figures opposing President Mahmoud Abbas do so merely for opposition’s sake, not out of principled positions, and many have since returned to Fatah, ending their opposition.
Every group has its own media platform, except the Muslim Brotherhood, which possesses a transnational media network.
In Palestinian politics, some are willing to collaborate with even the devil, if it serves to undermine the Palestinian Authority, a deeply unpatriotic position. Love for Palestine means putting its interest first, not that of an individual or organization.
Anyone who aligns with the PA’s general policies is often accused of betrayal, a dangerous exclusion aimed at destabilizing support for the Palestinian Authority, which Israel and the United States seek to weaken.
Nationally, it has been easy to determine our stance: what Israel rejects should raise caution, and what Israel supports is likely not in our interest. This shows the compass clearly, rather than blindly supporting Hamas, which in many cases serves the occupation’s interests.
The conflict between the Islamic project and the national project is supported by the occupation, the U.S., and Iran. Meanwhile, Arab states, the European Union, and the rest of the world fully understand what Hamas’s presence means in the Palestinian equation.
Finally, corruption does not only afflict the Authority; it also infects society and other factions and is not exclusive to one side. We must acknowledge this honestly. Even Hamas itself is accused of corruption, having accumulated billions in the name of the Palestinian people and kept it for itself, despite being the governing authority in Gaza, without proper oversight.
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