Almost daily, the IDF Spokesperson releases statements reporting the elimination of various terrorists in the ongoing combat in the Gaza Strip. The statements detail the involvement of the organizations Islamic Jihad and Hamas: a Hamas compound here, an Islamic Jihad rocket unit commander there, and most emphasized are the terrorists who were actively involved in the Simchat Torah massacre.
However, anyone following events in Gaza knows that the armed wing of Fatah – the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, including its various factions in Gaza – is also involved in the ongoing combat against the IDF and was fully complicit in the massacre on Simchat Torah.
Previously, we published documentation of Fatah members participating in the massacre in Israeli towns including the kidnapping of a Jewish woman. Since the war began, they have publicized hundreds of statements on their Telegram channels about the actions of Fatah fighters against the IDF in Gaza, some of whom have been killed. Hakol HaYehudi also publicized statements by Fatah senior official Tawfiq Tirawi, who boasted about Fatah’s involvement in the fighting both in Judea and Samaria and in Gaza.
And yet, for some reason, the IDF Spokesperson has never issued any statements about Fatah’s involvement in the massacre or in the ongoing war. Some believe this is a deliberate policy, similar to that in Judea and Samaria, where the IDF Spokesperson is also careful to avoid mentioning Fatah when terrorists from its ranks are eliminated, as we have exposed repeatedly.
A video released by the IDF Spokesperson a few months ago showed a Fatah flag and weapons seized from a terrorist’s home in Gaza by Maglan fighters. For some reason, the IDF Spokesperson’s office blurred the Fatah flag before releasing the video. We asked why the flag was blurred, and the IDF Spokesperson claimed that the video was edited because there were documents and phones nearby that needed to be obscured for security reasons.
Highlighting Fatah’s involvement in the fighting would, of course, undermine efforts by various parties advocating for the Palestinian Authority’s return to Gaza and its establishment of control there.
Earlier this week, we submitted an inquiry to the IDF Spokesperson’s office as to why, to the best of our knowledge, they have not published a single report on the elimination of Fatah terrorists since the start of the war, despite the daily involvement of Gazan Fatah terrorists in attacks against IDF forces operating in Gaza, as well as their active role in the October 7 massacre.
The IDF responded just yesterday with the following statement: "The claim that the IDF hides the organizational affiliation of terrorists in official statements is incorrect."
In response, we asked the IDF to show us where they have reported Fatah’s and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades’ involvement in the massacre or the fighting in Gaza. Our investigation was unable to find a single such instance. So far, the IDF Spokesperson has not directed us to any such report, which reinforces doubts about their conduct.
