Naomie is a 30-year-old Jewish Swiss woman who has lived in Tel Aviv since 2016. She told Watson on Monday how she experienced the devastating Hamas attacks on her home country:
According to the Israeli government, more than 700 people were killed in Hamas’ surprise attack on Saturday, October 7, around the Gaza Strip. The brutality of the attackers, especially at the site near the border where a rave party was taking place, caused fear among the population.
Olivier Rafowicz, reserve colonel and Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman for the French-language press, was also contacted by Watson. He describes the gruesome scenes, especially those at the rave party site, as follows:
Naomie has heard about cutting up with axes. “I didn’t know grenades were being thrown at tents,” she says. «The sources for these descriptions are videos. “I get my information from the mainstream media Haaretz, The Times of Israel and Al Jazeera,” adds the French-speaking dual citizen. Al Jazeera, the channel that is said to have ties with the Qatari sheikhs, who in turn are financiers of Hamas? “For me it is a medium that does honest work in the region,” Naomie explains.
Naomie continues to fight for the rights of the Palestinians
Colonel Rafowicz and Naomie probably have few political views in common. He is the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, which is right-wing conservative and promotes the “extreme left” in the country, she explains. She does this within the Hadash Formation, another name for the Israeli Communist Party, which often forms an alliance with Arab parties in Israel during elections. Hadash advocates the decolonization of the occupied territories in the West Bank and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
But Naomie and Colonel Rafowicz agree on one point: on Saturday, October 7, Hamas acted like ISIS. The Islamist terrorist group, which briefly created a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in the West, including those at the Bataclan in Paris and Saint-Denis in 2015, which left a total of 130 dead.
Israeli defense spokesman Rafowicz says:
“We will win this war and destroy Hamas’ military capabilities,” he announced. And the 100 to 150 hostages in the hands of the Islamist group? “That doesn’t change our operations,” assures Colonel Rafowicz – the Ministry of Defense has now announced the start of the “siege” of Gaza, no water, no food, no electricity, perhaps a means to put pressure on the hostages .
While the Netanyahu government is now criticized for ignoring the threat posed by Hamas, Hamas, classified as a terrorist movement by the European Union and perhaps soon by Switzerland, is now Israel’s greatest enemy. “We are not waging war against the Palestinians, but against Hamas, which has taken the Gaza Strip hostage,” said Colonel Rafowicz.
An “international coalition”?
The defense spokesman mentioned the possible formation of an “international coalition” to fight the Palestinian armed Islamist group. With whom? He doesn’t answer that. Whether Israel actually receives direct military aid is highly doubtful.
In Tel Aviv, Naomie and her group of friends feel ‘abandoned’.
Naomie thinks about leaving Israel
Today Naomie is thinking about leaving Israel. After the Hamas massacre, she fears ‘an outbreak of hatred against the Palestinians’.
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
