Khaled Abu Toameh
Gatestone, Dec. 11, 2023
“Lebanon is not an arena for resistance [against Israel] or those who are deceived. We reject this announcement. My advice to you [Hamas]: ‘Do not sink into the shifting Lebanese sands, otherwise the loss with be great.'”
On December 4, the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group.
Hamas announced the establishment of a new terrorist group in Lebanon with the goal of “liberating Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” In the past two months, Hamas terrorists in Lebanon have carried out rocket attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in northern Israel.
Hamas has called on the Palestinians living in Lebanon to join the group, “Vanguards of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” the name it chose for its barbaric invasion of Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip on October 7, when it massacred 1,200 Israelis and abducted 240 others to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, in short, is saying that it is planning a similar invasion of Israel, but this time from Lebanon.
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from many Lebanese, who fear that the Palestinian terror group and its patrons in Tehran are seeking to drag Lebanon into a destructive war with Israel. The Lebanese see how Hamas has brought devastation down on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a result of their attack on Israel. They fear the same consequence in Lebanon.
“This [Hamas] statement is unacceptable, neither in form nor in content,” said Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party. “It harms Lebanese sovereignty and is again trying to harm the relationship between the Lebanese and Palestinians.”… [To read the full article, click here]