The 6th general assembly of the World Muslim Scholars Union took place in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday and Wednesday (January 9 and 10, 2024). In addition to routine procedures, the main agenda of the general assembly was set as Gaza, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivered a significant speech lasting 40 minutes. Haniyeh's speech was particularly noteworthy for providing important insights into the background of the "Aqsa Flood" operations implemented by Hamas on October 7.

In the relevant part of his speech, Haniyeh stated:

"Before the Aqsa Flood, three significant developments occurred. Firstly, the relegation of the Palestinian cause to the background and its removal from the global agenda. The international community and decision-making bodies insisted on not highlighting the Palestinian cause. The world began to treat our cause as if it were Israel's internal matter. Depending on their perspectives, Israel was already handling this issue with its own methods. Even the term 'Two-State Solution' had been taken out of circulation. The Palestinian cause had been completely sidelined.

The second development was the rise of a government in Israel that was extremely radical and dangerous from a religious and national standpoint. This government prioritized attacks on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Judaization of the West Bank, and the continuation of the blockade on Gaza. They planned to achieve this by deporting Palestinians in the West Bank to Jordan and those in Gaza to Egypt. This government was a direct reflection of the religious and national radicalism existing in Israeli society. The events we witnessed in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the West Bank were indicators that the Israeli government was implementing its plans. The policy of keeping thousands of Palestinians in prison was also part of the same government's agenda. We were aware that the radical government supported by Israeli society was determined to carry out the project of destroying Al-Aqsa Mosque, especially.

As for the third development... This was particularly dangerous: the normalization agreements, which legitimized the Israeli occupation regime as a normal and legitimate actor in our region. This was presented as 'building regional peace' at the expense of abandoning the Palestinian cause, in Israel's language. The normalization train and related statements visited many central capitals in our region. Security agreements and military cooperation with Israel under normalization would completely push the Palestinian cause aside.

Hamas and the other elements of the Palestinian resistance could not resist all these developments with the methods, classical means, and defense tactics they had used until now. Therefore, we acted based on the command of this verse: 'Attack them at the gate. Once you have entered it, you are indeed victorious...' [Al-Ma'idah 23]. The Aqsa Flood not only signifies a glorious day for our people but also for the entire Islamic world and even humanity."

While watching Ismail Haniyeh at the podium, there was a noticeable anger, especially in his sentences directed towards the countries "boarding the normalization train" with Israel. There was no doubt that Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, was placed at the top of the list of central capitals visited by this train. Thus, it was openly confirmed that, from the beginning, the biggest goal of the Aqsa Flood concerning the Arab political scene was to prevent Saudi Arabia from making peace with Israel. Haniyeh explicitly stated, "We conducted these operations to prevent normalization" because of this.

Rather than eliminating Hamas, Israel's genocide attacks on Gaza have made Hamas the most powerful actor on the Palestinian political stage. Even supporters of Abbas have begun to lean emotionally towards Hamas, while those farthest from Hamas in terms of worldview have started to emphasize the importance and value of armed resistance against occupation. When a ceasefire is declared tomorrow, let's see how Saudi Arabia, which directly contributed to the strengthening of Hamas with its steps, will engage in a struggle against Hamas. Signs of a blood feud between the two sides have already emerged...