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Media lies harm only the media, not Hamas

January 24, 2014 at 3:05 am

Some Arab writers, journalists and media professionals are facing a real crisis. They have distanced themselves from the ethics of their profession in search of news reports made up of fabricated accusations against the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, and its leaders to such an extent that they have run out of ways to demonise the movement.


While such fabrications have been exposed as such in the media, the credibility of Hamas has risen as a result of its sincerity of intent and adherence to its principles and values. The attempts to harm the movement have backfired and these shameless scribes have brought harm only to themselves.

Hamas will not be affected by such plots as it continues on its chosen path to liberate the land of Palestine and its holy sites. The target of the resistance is the Zionist enemy and it will not be distracted by side issues. The movement has made it very clear over the years that its struggle is against Israel and nobody else.

The media lies in Egypt against Hamas are obvious to any impartial observer. Instead of responding to them I intend to demonstrate how ridiculous the claims are. If we believe what is written and said, the Palestinians have become the enemies of Egypt and its people overnight. Not only that, but Hamas and the Palestinian resistance are behind every ill that befalls the Egyptians. Where is Egyptian journalism heading to with these lies? What is in it for the media to promote discord between Egypt and the Palestinians?

One media fabrication is that Hamas was involved in the assassination of National Security officer Colonel Mohammed Mabrouk, because he was behind the dossier which accused President Mohamed Morsi of “collaborating” with the Islamic movement. Hamas has insisted that it had nothing to do with this or any other such event and that it does not and will not interfere in the internal affairs of Arab and Islamic countries. Propaganda to the contrary serves only the interests of the enemies of Egypt and its people, who have always supported the Palestinians.

Although Hamas’s position on this is clear the media has not ceased in its efforts to smear the movement without offering any evidence of, for example, its involvement in the bombing of churches, attacking a prison during the January 25 Revolution or the Rafah and Sinai incidents. There have been no formal charges against Hamas or its officials, who continue to visit Cairo freely.

Some of the fabrications are so ludicrous as to be funny. At the end of October, for example, Al-Watan newspaper claimed that Al-Qaeda has moved from Yemen and Syria to Egypt through the so-called “Hamas tunnels” under the border between Sinai and the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, 2 November, Masri Al-Youm quoted a member of parliament, Mustafa Bakri, as saying, “The isolated [sic] president Mohamed Morsi was to help to establish the state of Gaza in Sinai. There are recordings of Morsi which confirm that he intended to establish an Egyptian consulate in Gaza and a consulate for Gaza in Egypt.” Doesn’t this “parliamentarian” know that the Egyptian Embassy in Palestine is in Gaza and that it has been closed only temporarily? How can a serious journalist repeat such rubbish?

Some such journalists have taken their professional hatred to such a degree that they have called for the Egyptian air force to bomb Gaza; for Palestinians in Egypt to be arrested, even children; for Palestinians to be stripped of Egyptian nationality obtained through their mothers; and for Egyptian hospitals to refuse to treat Palestinian patients.

Media sources skilled in lying and forgery go out of their way to falsify their reports, displaying a shocking lack of knowledge in the process. One claim that Hamas has “abandoned” resistance and become the protector of Israel includes the “fact” that the movement “chose” to be part of the Muslim Brotherhood. As most people know, Hamas is an offshoot of the Brotherhood and has had some important successes against Israel’s brutal military occupation.

There is no doubt that these media campaigns are biased, and that the Egyptian media does not reflect the views of the Egyptian people with their deep ties to Palestine and the Palestinians. The accusations will not affect these links and the affection between the two people, because the Egyptians can see through them, just as Palestinians can. The Egyptians will always support our people, our cause, Jerusalem and the holy places. On our part, we Palestinians will never forget the Egyptian blood that has been spilt in the struggle against the Israeli enemy.

So who are these media stories intended for? Who do they benefit? Certainly not the Egyptians and the Palestinians, that’s for sure; nor, indeed, the Arabs. I suggest that they are desperate for an external bogey to divert attention away from internal crises. This is something that Egypt’s benefactor, the USA, has done ever since the end of the Second World War; it is a common tactic of politicians around the world.

When will the media realise that they will never defeat the resistance and that with every letter and word they fabricate they are only serving the Zionist entity?

The author is a member of Hamas’ political bureau. This is a translation of the Arabic text published by Al Jazeera net on 28 November, 2013

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.