Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran early this morning, on July 31st, as he attended the swearing in ceremony for the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Western journalists have been criticised for their coverage of his death, which describes the figure as a “moderate.”
Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike, which Israel has not officially acknowledged. It said his death would “take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions,” while Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, which has declared three days of national mourning, warned that Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment for itself.”
Haniyeh, who became Hamas’ political leader in 2017 and remained in the position—which he held during the October 7th terror attacks—until his death, “was generally seen by analysts as moderate and pragmatic,” the BBC reported. The same BBC was widely condemned for refusing to label Hamas a terrorist organisation following the launch of its most recent pogrom.
Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie described the broadcaster as a “disgrace” for its reporting, suggesting that “they always seem to find less generous adjectives for Israeli or U.S. Republican leaders.”
“I’m just grateful,” he added, that “another terrorist has bit the dust. Yes, terrorist, BBC.”
Spiked Online deputy editor Fraser Myers also said that while “online fake news is a scourge,” such coverage means it is no surprise that “people reject the mainstream.”
It is worth noting that reporting on Haniyeh’s death by The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and others contained almost exactly the same description of the (now) former leader of Hamas.
Haniyeh was designated as a terrorist by the U.S. in 2018. The state department said at the time that he had “close links with Hamas’ military wing” and was a “proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians.”
Writing today in The Jewish Chronicle, author Stephen Pollard jibed that
By the standards of genocidal maniacs, Haniyeh was indeed “moderate.” The total number of Jews murdered by Hamas does not come close to six million. Not that Haniyeh would have regarded that as anything other than disappointing, given he led an organisation committed to wiping out every Jew from the face of the earth.
As for “pragmatic”: well, he was prepared to let others join Hamas in murdering Jews. October 7th saw at least four other Islamist terror groups take part. Kudos to Haniyeh for not keeping the glory all to Hamas. That’s proper pragmatism for the good of the cause.
Haniyeh’s role as a primary negotiator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas means his death could change the already glacial pace of the negotiations.
