It is agreed upon that the man standing above all behind October 7 massacre (and, by the same token, subsequent war in Gaza) was Yahya Sinwar. So who was Yahya Sinwar? I believe some facts of his life tell the story of Hamas and how some (not all) Palestinians see the situation better than many other stories.
He was born in Khan Yunis in 1962 spending his childhood in refugee camp in Gaza. Way later, in Israeli prison, he talked about his childhood recounting the struggle for food and the shortage of bathrooms in the camp packed with thousands of desperate families. But remember - at the time Gaza was under Egyptian military control already for 14 years, and what it says is that for 14 years Egypt had neither improved the conditions in Gaza nor admitted at least some people into the rest of the vast and - at the time - not densely populated country which claimed Gaza for its own (before 1948 it was part of the British mandate).
The above picture is Khan Younis on January 1, 1960, under Egyptian rule, but supported by UNRWA.
He started his affiliation with Hamas, or rather at the time an Islamic Center - see the story of Hamas creation. Arrested couple of times by Israel - at the time Gaza was under Israeli military rule - he was promptly released climbing through Hamas's ranks. He became a founder of the Majd, a local network that sought out and killed collaborators with Israel, which later became Hamas’s internal security force. The name is an acronym for Arabic "Majmouath Jihad u-Dawa" - Holy War and Sermonizing Group. While Hamas always defined itself as a branch of Muslim Brotherhood (so in its charter written in 1988) this group was dedicated to the gathering of information on suspected collaborators. The information was passed on to the "shock committees", who interrogated and then killed the suspects. During the first intifada Hamas killed 20 Israelis and approximately 100 Palestinians whom they accused of "collaboration" (a.k.a. wanting to cease fight and live in peace).
In this part of his life Sinwar gained the nickname "the butcher from Khan Younis". He killed or ordered to be killed unknown number of Palestinians he didn't agree with or suspected to be collaborators (or just not jihadi enough). We know for sure about 4 killed by him personally, but he himself admitted killing 12 and among Palestinians the famous story goes that he not only killed one of those forcing his brother to bury the victim alive but also doing it with a spoon instead of a spade. Certainly lust for power, radicalism and sadistic inclinations were his traits.
He was also highly intelligent, focused and a great manipulator. It all added up to many who knew him as by the book psychopathic traits.
His third arrest, in 1988, led to him being sentenced for the incitement to murder and murder of two abducted Israeli soldiers and 4 Palestinians killed by him in his commander of the Majd capacity. He admitted killing 12 but the proves were certain for 4. Sentenced for 4 life imprisonments he spent subsequent years in Israeli prison studying Hebrew, learning about Israel and preparing for the time he hoped for - after his release. He also kept contacts with the outside world as his brother was high in Hamas structure as well.
Ehud Yaari, a fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who interviewed Sinwar in prison four times described him as psychopath, yet added: "[But] to say about Sinwar, 'Sinwar is a psychopath, full stop,' would be a mistake because then you will miss this strange, complex figure. He was extremely cunning, shrewd - a guy who knows to switch on and off a type of personal charm ".
In 2008, still in prison, the dentist Yuval Bitton, taking care of Yahya Sinwar, spotted symptoms like standing for prayer then falling and drifting in and out of consciousness, complained of neck pain etc. and he suspected some brain problem. Transported to Soroka Medical Center Yahya Sinwar was diagnosed with brain tumor and underwent emergency surgery that removed the tumor and saved his life. Sinwar expressed his gratitude to Yuval Bitton at the time. Yuval Bitton's nephew was murdered on October 7, 2023 in the kibbutz where he lived.
Three years later, in 2011, Yahya Sinwar was one of the exchanged prisoners for the return of Gilat Shalit - Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas from Israel in 2006. There are lots of indications that the kidnapping was orchestrated by Sinwar's brother and its aim might have been to release Sinwar which was done against better judgement of the prison officers working with him.
Sinwar disregarded lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike. He was the only one who mattered and set standards in his mindset. When after releasing he gained the highest position in Hamas inside Gaza he masterminded attack on October 7. The attack was thought to destroy the road to mutual recognition of Arab countries and Israel (the treaty with Saudi Arabia was about to be signed) and Sinwar didn't expect any other Israeli answer than the one he got, nevertheless he believed it to be worthy to commit crimes and massacre and bring about the destruction of Gaza and death of thousands of Palestinians in order to prevent peace. Asked in the aftermath of October 7 he stated that Hamas did nothing wrong on October 7, and would do it again, and harder, if given the chance, therefore removing any remaining possibility that Israel would seek a solution that would spare Gazans from the total destruction of their land.
The portrait of a human being who put his undeniable talents only to murdering others, for whom the hate was the only life pleasure, who disregarded lives of civilians, children, elderly, peace activists and others, both among Israeli and Palestinian, and who in fact was murdering Palestinians who did not want to murder Israelis either because they saw other humans in them or because they were afraid of the response is not the pretty one. He was the one who had his life saved by Israeli doctors, yet whose dream was killing all Israelis. The architect of October 7 but never the protector of Palestinians. He never planned for Palestinian state to become reality, only for Israel to be destroyed.
Now, why would ANYBODY, but ANYBODY see in him anything other than pure evil incarnated is beyond me. Look at support for Hamas declared by Westerners (not opposition to war, this is understandable and shared by many Israelis, possibly the majority) and ask yourselves: why? I can only recall the admiration for murderous psychopaths in communist movement by some of the Western most recognized artists, writers and philosophers (think Walter Duranty or Jean-Paul Sartre or George Bernard Shaw). Is it the old human longing for gladiators while sat in the theater? Maybe. But knowing who Sinwar was, and aware that it is not hard to find this knowledge, I see those supporting Hamas (not calling for the end of war or hoping for better fate for Palestinians, I support it myself deeply) as blood thirsty antisemites, looking at peace craving Palestinians with the same disdain as the butcher from Khan Younis and willing to wear the aura of righteous when craving for genocide ("from the river to the sea" is nothing else but calling for genocide). And it is often done by people unaware how badly Palestinians are treated in Syria or Lebanon, this does not concern them (remember - "pro-Palestinian" Hezbollah was killing Palestinians in camps in Syria asked by Assad and Russia).
Never, never should we glorify psychopathic mass murderers. And there are many Palestinians who are brave, working for peace, hoping for future, like some of those killed by Yahya Sinwar with his bare hands.
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