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Saudi Reporter Absolutely Grills Top Hamas Leader in Unprecedented Interview
By Bonchie | 7:20 AM on October 21, 2023The opinions expressed by
contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of
RedState.com.

AP Photo/Adel Hana
In an unprecedented scene, a Saudi Arabian reporter grilled the leader
of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, on Friday.

Mashal, who lives in the lap of luxury in Qatar while demanding women
and children sacrifice themselves for him, was quite obviously caught
off guard by the line of questioning. You can see him get visibly angry
at times, perhaps due to an expectation that he'd be allowed to spew his
normal talking points without any pushback.

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The video is obviously in Arabic but is subtitled throughout.

The pressure in the interview starts immediately, with a question about
Hamas launching its new war against Israel without any backing from
other Palestinian groups or Arab governments and then expecting them to
all come rushing in to help. Mashal first answers by praising the brutal
massacre of 1,400 people, mostly civilians, as "ingenious" and a part of
the "air of resistance."

To her credit, the reporter kept pushing, countering by pointing out
that Hamas wasn't resisting but instead butchered civilians and recorded
themselves doing it. She goes on to point out that Hamas is now being
compared to ISIS.

Naturally, Mashal again deflects, claiming such comparisons are a
conspiracy invented by the Jews, and then the mask comes completely off.
In an astonishing exchange, he begins to cite the 30 million Russian
deaths during World War II as an example of the "sacrifice" needed to
win. That's the leader of Hamas coming right out and saying what we all
know: He is willing to see an unthinkable number of women and children
die for his "cause" while he gives orders from his penthouse in Qatar,
never putting himself in danger.

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There's no greater picture of cowardice.

The reporter didn't let up after that. She then demanded to know how
Mashal could expect others to support the Palestinian cause when Hamas
purposely butchered civilians in their attack. Laughably, he claims that
Hamas "focuses on soldiers" and claims that whatever civilian deaths
occurred weren't their responsibility and happened "by mistake," as if
bounding and burning people alive is something that just happens.

At that point, the questioning returned to the issue of Hamas launching
its attack unilaterally, with Mashal making a "demand" that Egypt get
involved. It was in the context of Lebanon and Hezbollah, though, that
the Saudi reporter delivered her most devastating line.

REPORTER: The last thing they need is another war that will come with
another bill to pay. They say: Khaled Mashal is sitting in an
air-conditioned room, talking about wars, jihad, and bombings

Mashal's answer is absolutely laughable.

MASHAL: We are in the middle of the battlefield. No one is sitting this
one out.

Fact-check: False. He is literally sitting the war out, something he's
done for most of his life. This is a man who was exiled by his fellow
Arabs in Jordan before going to Syria and then Qatar. He has others die
in his name while he lives off the fruit of the aid money he stole from
them.

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To end the interview, Mashal expressed more delusion, claiming that he
wants the release of 10,000 prisoners in Israel for the release of the
200 hostages Hamas is holding. He also doubled down on the idea that
Hamas didn't need to consult the Arab nations on his attack despite
demanding they assist him now.

We'll see how that all works out for him. The reality is that Hamas
started this war, and despite its desire for a wider regional conflict,
it will face the consequences of its actions. Mashal should probably
sleep with one eye open from here on out.

Bonchie
Front-page contributor for RedState. Visit my archives for more of my
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