'Utterly preposterous': Palestinian Authority blames Israel for music festival massacre
The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry claimed Israel, not Hamas, is responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre at the Supernova music festival, an accusation that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as "utterly preposterous."
As The Times of Israel reported Sunday, the PA asserted that a preliminary investigation by Israel Police concluded that the Israel Defense Forces were responsible for a majority of festival attendees' deaths.
Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on civilian communities in Israel killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including over 360 people at the Supernova music festival near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas kidnapped around 240 others that day. The attack prompted Israeli airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza seeking to eradicate Hamas and rescue hostages.
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The PA is the governing body of certain Palestinian regions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting from the Oslo Accords, a peace agreement in the 1990s that attempted to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by establishing a two-state solution.
The PA in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the central West Bank, alleged that Israeli helicopters bombed civilians at the festival as part of a "Hannibal Protocol." The protocol, a military order repealed in 2016, is an IDF directive regarding the use of force to prevent the kidnapping of fellow soldiers.
The foreign ministry attempted to cast doubts upon Israeli accounts of the atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7.
"The death and destruction in the area, especially those parts of it which were videoed, showed destruction and fires that broke out in several houses because of Israeli bombardment," the PA alleged. "We demand that all media outlets and international bodies specifically scrutinize Israeli reports."
Netanyahu released a video statement on Sunday in response to the PA's allegations, noting that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas previously denied the Holocaust.
"Today, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah said something utterly preposterous. It denied that it was Hamas that carried out the horrible massacre at the nature festival near Gaza," Netanyahu said. "It actually accused Israel of carrying out that massacre. This is a complete reversal of truth."
Netanyahu outlined his vision of a future civil administration in Gaza, one that does not deny the Oct. 7 massacre and does not promote an ideology that calls for the destruction of Israel.
"That's not acceptable, and that is not the way to achieve peace," he said.
According to the The Times of Israel, the PA deleted its accusations from social media. However, a document outlining the allegations was sent to diplomats and the United Nations.
In a separate report, The Times noted that the media outlet Haaretz first reported that an IDF helicopter that arrived at the musical festival site may have killed some Israeli civilians. The report gained traction on social media; however, many took it out of context, according to the Times.
As The Christian Post previously reported, survivors of the music festival massacre have shared their experiences of fleeing from Hamas terrorists who attacked the festival.
During a special screening earlier this month, CP reporters viewed footage showing the aftermath of the massacre and clips of Hamas terrorists attacking civilians.
Recently, the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, fired Samantha Pearson, the head of its campus sexual assault center, after she signed a letter denying Hamas terrorists raped women during the attack.
Pearson had signed a letter titled "Stand with Palestine: Call on Political Leaders to End Their Complicity in Genocide," a copy of which was shared on social media.
According to the letter, center-left New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh had repeated "the unverified accusation that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence," with the document outlining other critiques of the lawmaker.
In a Monday statement to CP, University of Alberta President and Vice-Chancellor Bill Flanagan confirmed that the university no longer employs Pearson and that the school has appointed a new interim director of the sexual assault center.
"I want to be clear that the former employee's personal views and opinions do not in any way represent those of the University of Alberta," Flanagan stated. "The University of Alberta stands firmly and unequivocally against discrimination and hatred on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, national origin, and other protected categories."
The president explained that the university recognizes the historical and ongoing harms of anti-Semitism, emphasizing the school's commitment to advancing a "world free of prejudice and discrimination."
"The services provided by the university, particularly those supporting the well-being and health of community members, must be open and welcoming to all individuals in our diverse community," he continued.
"The new leadership at the Sexual Assault Centre is committed to swiftly implementing the changes required to ensure this university commitment is upheld."
As CP previously reported, a Rabbinate corps member of the IDF told the media that Hamas terrorists subjected women, girls and grandmothers to sexual violence. The woman, named Shari, said that there is evidence the terrorists brutally raped their victims until their pelvises broke.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
