An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that there were “hostage situations” in the southern city of Ofakim and the nearby kibbutz of Beeri.
Hamas said it had taken “dozens” of Israeli soldiers hostage and moved them to the Gaza Strip as footage emerged appearing to show gunmen in military fatigues leading a group of mostly barefoot women down a street in Israel.
The announcement and video verified by NBC News came hours after Hamas launched a deadly land, air and sea attack and fired a huge barrage of rockets at Israel.
Can we stop calling everything in the Middle East theocratic?
Hamas is a violent anti-democractic, and misogynistic movement centered around past humiliations and blood and soil type motivations. They tick all the boxes for fascist.
Putin tries to mix the Orthodox church into his rhetoric too you know. But no one buys it with Putin. People buy it when Hamas does it because of the assumption that Muslims are primitives that only understand religion and nothing else.
People are people everywhere. Palestinians are just as susceptible to fascist rhetoric as Russians, Americans, or anyone else in the world. American fascism is the Christian cross wrapped in the American flag. Religion being used as a tool a fascists shouldn’t surprise you, it’s the norm for these assholes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
Historians, political scientists, and other scholars have long debated the exact nature of fascism.[28][page needed] Historian Ian Kershaw once wrote that “trying to define ‘fascism’ is like trying to nail jelly to the wall.”[29] Each different group described as fascist has at least some unique elements, and many definitions of fascism have been criticized as either too broad or too narrow.[30] According to many scholars, fascism—especially once in power—has historically attacked communism, conservatism, and parliamentary liberalism, attracting support primarily from the far-right.[31]
Frequently cited as a standard definition by notable scholars,[32] such as Roger Griffin,[33] Randall Schweller,[34] Bo Rothstein,[35] Federico Finchelstein,[36] and Stephen D. Shenfield,[37] is that of historian Stanley G. Payne.[38] His definition of fascism focuses on three concepts:
“Fascist negations” – anti-liberalism, anti-communism, and anti-conservatism.
“Fascist goals” – the creation of a nationalist dictatorship to regulate economic structure and to transform social relations within a modern, self-determined culture, and the expansion of the nation into an empire.
“Fascist style” – a political aesthetic of romantic symbolism, mass mobilization, a positive view of violence, and promotion of masculinity, youth, and charismatic authoritarian leadership.
Notably, when comparing with Hamas, 1) religion is of secondary consideration in fascism, and 2) facism tends to create cults of personality such as Hitler, Putin, etc. Fascism will always put party before everything, unlike religiously motivated groups. And in Islam particularly, it’s difficult for one charismatic leader to create a cult of personality because such a leader is always standing in the shadow of Mohammed.
Most importantly, fascism involves a comprehensive transformation of society, with a particular focus on military expansion. It’s very difficult for a group under siege to be fascist as they simply don’t have the option for expansion.
Jihadis share many similar aspects with fascists, authoritarians, etc, but those are means to an end. In fascism, the means ARE the end, there’s no real plan, the fascist dictator just tries to ride the wave of nationalism as long as they can.
