In the initial days after the attacks against Israel in the South, the global community stood behind Israel.
Stunned and disgusted by the gory pictures that depicted the unprecedented levels of human cruelty in this century, the world stood with Israel and against its enemies.
Enjoying world support was a relatively new phenomenon for an Israel used to being attacked by its enemy’s rockets and then being told to de-escalate; hitting back with an ambiguous proportional response that always seemed to be determined right after an Israeli attack and conveniently always found Israel guilty of using a disproportionate response.
Israelis were pleased with this newfound support, but missed a fundamental mistake that many countries, news organizations, and even the Israeli government missed: The war and gruesome attacks against Israel have been framed as Israel against Hamas.
It made sense to characterize the two sides as Hamas vs Israel because Hamas was the terrorist organization that took immediate credit for the attacks and sent the most attackers.
However, characterizing the attacks as conducted by Hamas missed half the picture and the real foundations of the war.
Joe Truzman, a research analyst focused on Palestinian armed groups and non-state actors in the Middle East for The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote that there is plenty of conclusive evidence demonstrating that multiple Palestinian terrorist organizations were involved in the barbaric attacks that occurred in Israel on October 7.
Truzman listed Hamas, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. Other sources reported that Palestinian terror organizations Jaysh Al-Ummah and Jaysh Al-Islam Gaza were also involved.
Israeli media reported the bodies of 1,500 Palestinian terrorists were found within Israel, after the counterattacks, while Hamas only took credit for 1,200 of its terrorists participating in the mission.
That leaves 300 fighters, or a quarter of the attackers, who were not Hamas members.
Taking into account Mr. Truzman’s information, and reporting from other sources, the war that started on October 7 should not be characterized as Hamas vs Israel. It would be more accurate to extend the characterization to a Palestinian vs Israel war.
The attacks were coordinated by many different Palestinian factions, but these factions were representative of the Palestinian people.
While not every Palestinian supports one of the multiple armed groups that attacked Israel, the Palestinian people elected Hamas to power and have continued to support the terror organization’s rule in the Gaza Strip – even at their own peril.
Palestinian hate for Israel and the Jewish people is well known. In poll after poll, many documented in this space in previous columns, an overwhelming number of Palestinians harbor antisemitic feelings towards Jews and support an armed struggle against Israel and its people.
An accurate assessment of the Palestinian people would show that they are more who are aligned with Hamas and the factions that participated in the attacks than there are those who objected to them.
There was no large condemnation among the Palestinian people after the attacks.
There was none of the disgust demonstrated about the attacks that was exhibited by almost every other nation in the world.
Instead, the world witnessed the familiar scenes of Palestinians blowing horns, blasting music, handing out candy, and setting off fireworks, all in celebration of the massacre of Jews.
The façade that there are two groups, Palestinians and Palestinian terror organizations has vanished.
Palestinian approval of the attacks wasn’t only displayed in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Palestinian Diaspora community came out in full force to support the attacks.
From demonstrations in Times Square in New York City, to Sydney and Berlin, Palestinians rallied in support of the Hamas attacks, screaming “Death to the Jews” and displaying swastikas.
At college campuses in the United States letters were signed and published by student leaders and organizations blaming Israel for the attacks, and at the University of North Carolina, students chanted, “Palestine is Hamas, Hamas is Palestine,” proving the thesis of this column – that the attacks weren’t carried out in the name of Hamas, but in the name and representation of the Palestinian people.
One of the most revealing scenes came when Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan was repeatedly asked if she was in favor of Hamas, of beheadings of babies, and rape, and instead of answering with a resounding “Of course not,” remained silent.
The Irish, Americans, Jews, and Arabs all share a teaching, “Silence is complicity.” As an Arab American, Tlaib knows this teaching well and her silence demonstrated her approval of the attacks.
Palestinian terrorists aren't outliers
The notion that the Palestinian terror organizations are outliers among the Palestinian people and that most of the Palestinian community doesn’t support their ideology and viciousness isn’t accurate.
THIS DOESN’T mean that every Palestinian is a terrorist or terrorist supporter, but it does mean that as a whole, the majority of Palestinians have chosen terrorism over peace, violence over negotiations, and intransigence over progress.
If nothing else, the attacks of Simchat Torah showed the Israeli people, even the most optimistic among them, that there can be no peace with the Palestinian people.
Moving forward, Israel must recognize the foolishness of entertaining a peace deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The brutal actions of the Palestinians showed a level of cruelty that prevents any sort of a negotiated settlement with them.
The only way the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will end will be on terms dictated to the Palestinians, after a comprehensive Israeli victory.
This is how the Allies ended their conflict with Germany in World War I and World War II, and how America ended is first Persian Gulf War with Iraq.
The brutality displayed by many Palestinians has ensured that they have forfeited the right to demands in a negotiation.
Until a total Israeli victory over the Palestinians, and a Palestinian surrender and understanding that they will have terms dictated to them, the conflict will continue – as it has for the last 100 years.
The writer is a certified interfaith hospice chaplain in Jerusalem and the mayor of Mitzpe Yeriho, Israel. She lives with her husband and six children.