Interview · moment 22 of 28
Is Hamas a Terrorist Group? Defining Terrorism on Both Sides
from Bonus Episode: Abby Martin
3 min
Guest
Tim argues that targeting civilians, whether by Hamas or Israel militarily, both fit definitions of terrorism, while admitting uncertainty about whether Hamas serves Gazans' best interests or just took Qatari money.
- Defining terrorism as an arbitrary term, Tim argues both Hamas and Israel engage in it by targeting civilians indiscriminately.
- Hamas aims to inflict terror on Israelis, and Israel's current military behavior does the same to Palestinians—both qualify as terrorism by that definition.
- Tim admits uncertainty about Hamas's actual goals for Gaza governance and what they've done with money from Qatar.
- Examining Middle Eastern repression and oil wealth raises the question of what the region would look like without US interference.
- RFK Jr. explicitly laid bare Israel's utility as a colonial outpost for the US Empire, something people already knew.
- Religious repression in the Middle East stems from and is enabled by subjugating populations, not religion alone.
- Saudi Arabia, despite being incredibly wealthy and powerful, prevents international sanctions and laws while the US supports it.