On October 7, 2023, after Hamas unleashed carnage worse than ISIS against innocent civilians — including children, women, and the elderly — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NPR that Israel is committed to doing three things in Gaza: destroy Hamas, free the Israeli hostages, and give Gaza a different future. Israel has sought peaceful diplomacy, only to their detriment. Now, they are taking necessary measures to ensure the safety of Israel and its citizens.
This was the largest attack against Jews since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. Of those so viciously slaughtered, at least 27 are Americans. Others are missing and presumed kidnapped by the terrorists.
Negotiations for the release of hostages provide a gleam of hope amid an extremely difficult time of war. The temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas resulted in a swap of more than 81 hostages being held by Hamas at an extremely high price — 180 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Also, humanitarian, medical, and fuel aid is being allowed into Gaza.
Hamas has released at least 60 Israeli women and children and 21 people of other nationalities, and more hostages are prayerfully going to be released by Hamas in the days ahead. Horror stories of what the hostages have endured since that dreadful October day are beginning to surface.
Unimaginable terror inflicted by Hamas
The reports from the war zone are heartbreaking. I have seen images that I will never forget.
Hamas infiltrated Israel and went door to door — grabbing babies, slaughtering infants and moms with kids. If they could not enter a home, they burned it down and shot people as they ran outside. Hamas beheaded both IDF soldiers and babies. It terrorized, intimidated, and slaughtered elderly men and women. It even targeted a concert for peace, chased down attendees, and used humans for target practice.
These acts of terror by Hamas are the worst evil I have ever seen. When entering the areas that Hamas invaded, the Israeli soldiers were not prepared for what they saw — some babies were beheaded and other babies were strangled, hung by their mother’s undergarments, while parents were forced to watch in horror before they were killed.
A mortician described the autopsy of a burned corpse. The person was burned alive, and the mortician knew that because soot was found in the body’s trachea. The people hid in a bomb shelter and the entire group was burned alive. Despite his many decades of doing autopsies, the mortician began to cry and could not finish describing what happened.
There is no boundary Hamas will not cross, and the terror they are inflicting is unimaginable.
Tragic result of culture-wide indoctrination
I have studied Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for many years. The indoctrination of this kind of terrorism at the level we’ve witnessed since October 7 is pervasive like a malignant cancer. If we do not want to see the gut-wrenching slaughter of innocent people, then we must defund terrorism globally. Golda Meir, the prime minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, said it best, “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.”
The Palestinian Authority has been indoctrinating children for decades to kill Jews and slaughter “infidels” — which includes anyone who will not submit to Islam and Sharia law. From birth, these children are taught to perform hate-filled songs and plays and are cheered on by their parents and the government to kill Jews and destroy Israel. The children are filled with rage and hatred for America and Christians. At school, these kids act out the simulated slaughter of Jews and “infidels.”
The Palestinian Authority in Gaza and throughout its schools systematically trains children to commit acts of terror. “Our weapon is our Islam, and our ammunition is our children,” a young girl about the age of 7 sings into a studio recording mic. The scenes are disturbing with the children — from the time they can walk — being indoctrinated to believe that the highest honor is to be a martyr.
A 2021 UN Watch document submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council outlines the extent of the indoctrination of child soldiers by the PA and Hamas in violation of international law. The Secretary-General of the United Nations received this excerpt of a written statement from Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31: “United Nations Watch is deeply concerned by Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas recruitment and use of Palestinian child soldiers in violation of international law … Both the PA and Hamas routinely indoctrinate Palestinian children to aspire to martyrdom through armed confrontations with Israel.”
Hamas is using its own people, families, and children on the front lines of the war. They are causing casualties to their own people. For example, we now know that the command center for Hamas was strategically placed beneath a Gaza hospital. Additionally, Hamas constructed an elaborate underground network, including an armory and 311 miles of tunnels dug in part with money from American taxpayers. Unfortunately, it is reported that hostages remain in the underground network of tunnels where rescue is difficult.
America must not open doors to terrorism
The United States needs to understand Hamas terrorists’ culture-wide goal of martyrdom and infatuation of killing the “infidels.” This entire culture glorifies death and the murder of Jews.
During Joe Biden’s recent visit to Israel, he said he wants to give $100 million to Palestinians in Gaza and the “West Bank.” This is insane! Hamas still has hundreds of hostages, some believed to be American. There was no mention of them at the time of Biden’s announcement — just free money to a Hamas-run government that sponsors terror! The Palestinian Authority will be doling out almost 3 million dollars to the families of terrorists as part of a program that incentivizes terrorism in October 2023. Biden has donated your hard-earned U.S. tax dollars to fund terrorism.
While President Trump was in office, he demanded that the Palestinian Authority stop doling out blood money. Trump cut off aid, and Biden reinstated it. We have no business sending money to terrorists who target innocent people, babies, the disabled, and even the elderly who survived the Holocaust. They should be condemned and sanctioned — not supported — by our White House!
We must take a strong stand against the exporters of terror and apply severe sanctions to prevent further terrorist acts. Now, some are calling upon America to allow the Palestinians immediate entry into our country. America must not become a haven for Hamas or the Palestinians. Of course, we feel compassion for these people, but discernment is needed. The families don’t need to leave Gaza. Israel opened a corridor to southern Gaza as they target northern Gaza where Hamas is embedded.
Egypt, which borders Gaza, refuses to allow the Palestinians to enter. Even though Egypt is primarily Muslim, the government knows the kind of people who live in Gaza. They do not care for life — neither Jew nor Christian nor Muslim.
Reps. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and Andy Ogles (R-TN) have introduced the “Guaranteeing Aggressors Zero Admission Act,” or the GAZA Act. Rep. Tiffany said: “We can’t let President Biden abuse our parole and visa rules to bring unvetted Palestinians into American communities the way he did with thousands of unvetted Afghans.” This bill will prevent the Biden administration from issuing visas to Palestinians.
Congress must pass the GAZA Act to protect our national security and block the Biden administration from throwing open our doors to welcome terrorists. We cannot open our doors to this insanity!
Right now, America is facing a test. How will we respond? It is critical that we take a strong stance against these horrors by defunding terrorism through every avenue possible. Also, we must stand together against the ghastly violence happening against Israel and keep it from spreading around the world. Congress must swiftly act to condemn such violence and do everything to stop it from spreading to America!
Mat Staver is founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, chairman of Liberty Counsel Action, Faith and Liberty, Covenant Journey and Covenant Journey Academy. He has more than 350 legal opinions, authored eight scholarly law review publications, and many articles and books.
Mat has argued in many federal and state courts, including three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, which includes a 9-0 precedent-setting victory in Shurtleff v. City of Boston. This case unanimously rejected the 1971 Supreme Court opinion of Lemon v. Kurtzman that did incredible damage to the First Amendment for 51-years.
Mat hosts two daily radio programs, “Freedom’s Call and Faith and Freedom,” as well as a weekly television program, “Freedom Alive.”
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