During the course of the war in Syria, a number of people migrated from Gaza to Syria in order to join the side of the insurgency against the government. One of these individuals is ‘Abu Khattab al-Ghazi’ (Abu Khattab of Gaza), an activist known for his support for the project of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham based in the area of Idlib and its environs. I conducted an interview with him recently about the recent events in Gaza and the wider region, including the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniya and perspectives on his assassination in the northwest of Syria.
Q: First, could you tell me a little about your life in hijra [migration] and jihad? When did you come to al-Sham from Gaza and what have you done in the field of al-Sham since your arrival?
A: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon Muhammad the Messenger of God, and all his family and companions. As for what follows:
Firstly, I will tell you about myself. I am Osama Samir al-Namas, known as Abu Khattab al-Ghazi, and in the Syrian revolution as Shamil al-Ghazi. I am from the town of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip: may God provide deliverance to our people in Gaza sooner rather than later.
“This war – without doubt – is one of the rounds of the conflict between truth and falsehood and between tyranny and justice."- Abu Khattab al-Ghazi
I came to Syria when the blessed Syrian revolution started: i.e. at the end of 2011. The main reason for hijra was that we in Palestine had been living for decades under great oppression at the hand of the criminal Jews, and when we saw our unarmed Syrian brothers come out to demand freedom and dignity, and when we saw how the Assadist machine of oppression and criminality responded to them and spilled their blood, we realised it was necessary to make hijra to help our oppressed brothers and stand withthem against the oppressive tyrants.
I have worked in a number of fields since I came to Syria, whether in the military aspect previously or ‘popular’ work more recently.
Q: Everyday we see the destruction of more homes, the displacement of people and the killing of civilians in unending airstrikes. How should we understand this war on Gaza? Is the war foremost a religious war that the Jews have launched against Islam and Muslims?
A: With regards to the al-Aqsa Flood battle that the Palestinian resistance forces are waging against the criminal Zionist entity, this battle has come in the context of defending the rights of this people who have been suffering from oppression, subjugation, siege and violation of holy sites for decades. The world has seen the barbarity of the crimes that Israel is committing against the families and civilians and indeed it has gone further than that to the point of blowing up uninhabited buildings, in a full-scale war crime from which nothing in Gaza is exempted.
This war – without doubt – is one of the rounds of the conflict between truth and falsehood and between tyranny and justice. The photos and news coming from Gaza are the best evidence of how far the Zionist oppression has gone, and God is our reliance and He suffices as trustee.
Q: How should we understand the Palestinian cause? Is it a cause of the Islamic Ummah or a national and ethnic cause first?
A: If we wish to place the Palestinian cause in its appropriate place, it is a humanitarian cause whose justice cannot be disputed by any person, regardless of his religion and beliefs. Oppression and usurpation of rights are likewise among the matters that human souls revile, regardless of any ideology.
If we agree on that, then the summation for us is that the Palestinian cause is the cause of all people, and should not be limited by religion, geography or ethnicity.
So the oppression and tyranny that the Palestinians directly face in their conflict with the Zionists are indirectly faced by all peoples of the world at the hands of the Zionists’ tools that control the economy, confiscate resources, ignite wars and play sport with the peoples’ fates. Ignorance of that or overlooking it naturally prolongs the oppression in the world and this is what we do not want for any people at all.
Q: What should be our position towards the factions of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Palestine? For example some say it is not allowed to support them because of their relations with Iran and the Assad government in Damascus. Do you and the Gazan muhajirin in Idlib agree with this opinion and position? In general what is your opinion and that of the people of Idlib about the acts of the ‘resistance axis’ in launching drones and missiles at Israel?
Iran has been raising the banner of support for Palestine and al-Aqsa and publicly flaunting it and mobilising and recruiting the Shi’a under this slogan, and indeed it has justified its spilling of the blood of the Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni people as standing in the face of the Zionist project and its tools, as it falsely claims
.A: With regards to the position on Hamas and the Palestinian factions’ relations with Iran and the resistance axis, from the perspective of principle, there is no Shari’i objection that prevents taking support from any side whatsoever provided that the support is used to strengthen one’s position against the more hostile enemy. The problem rather lies in extensively praising and lauding the resistance axis as though it raises the slogan of justice in this world, when the truth is that the resistance axis’ hands are stained with the blood of Arab and Islamic peoples whose blood is equal to that of Palestinian blood. This issue – that is, extensively praising Iran – is what we have always publicly condemned.
But condemning our brothers’ mistake should not necessitate that we stand in the rank of the side opposing them or turn our backs on them at a time when they are in utmost need of support, aid and help. Also we should not ignore the issue of Arab abandonment of the Palestinian cause and even conspiracy against it, and normalisation with the Zionists in a bid to extinguish and do away with the cause. Indeed, recalling this state of abandonment makes us more understanding of the Palestinian factions’ choice of resorting to Iran that has offered them its hand and opened its doors for them. Even so, we condemn our brothers’ extensive praise and lauding of Iran that has committed crimes against our brothers among the Arab and Islamic peoples.
Q: With regards to the role of Iran and the resistance axis in the al-Aqsa Flood operation, until today it has not reached the required or expected level. For decades, Iran has been raising the banner of support for Palestine and al-Aqsa and publicly flaunting it and mobilising and recruiting the Shi’a under this slogan, and indeed it has justified its spilling of the blood of the Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni people as standing in the face of the Zionist project and its tools, as it falsely claims.
Today, when the time has come for entitlement to support and Iran has been put to the test, we have not found that it has truly participated and entered into the battle for al-Quds, such that Iran’s deception in its claim to support Palestine and al-Aqsa has become apparent to people, as has the fact that it has been using support for the Palestinian resistance factions as a means to whitewash its image before the peoples of the region and implement its own project, for which al-Quds is not among the priorities and program of action.
But we think and expect that the al-Aqsa Flood battle’s extent and impacts will extend to the entire region, and we will witness an expansion in the map of conflict in which Iran and its arms may be forced to become part of it.
Q: We saw the assassination of Ismail Haniya by Israel recently. Is it right for us to ask for God to have mercy on him and say he is a martyr, given that he was assassinated in Tehran? What is the stance of the people in Idlib and its environs regarding this matter? Why has Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham not issued an official condolences statement?
A: With regards to the assassination of the mujahid brother Abu al-Abd Haniya (may God have mercy on him and accept him among the martyrs), this is something the heart feels sad about, for the man spent his life support al-Aqsa and Palestine, and offered his children and grandchildren as martyrs, and mourned their death with all patience and steadfastness in a scene of faith that reveals the depth of his conviction and faith in the justice of the cause that he represents. Indeed we belong to God and to Him do we return.
We have seen the state of sadness, pain and mourning for Abu al-Abd from all the components of the Islamic Ummah in its scholars, free institutions, symbols, cadres and all its people. The Syrian revolution that is part of the Islamic Ummah has not been one to contravene and refrain from such a stance, for it has shown its official position in mourning the death of Abu al-Abd via the statement of the administration for political affairs and the latest statement of the Fatwa-Issuing Council in the liberated areas, and thirdly the Syrian Islamic Council. We should also note that leading figures and symbols of the revolution have mourned him and held the absentee funeral prayer for him in many of the liberated areas’ mosques, answering the call of the Awqaf Ministry in the Syrian Salvation Government.
“Whereas we hoped that the Arab armies equipped with arms and neighbouring our occupied lands would contribute to helping the Palestinian revolutionaries, we have seen them repress the youth and prevent them from reaching the borders to clash with the Zionists.” - Abu Khattab al-Ghazi
In addition, a mourning council was held for Abu al-Abd in the Atmeh area, attended by representatives of the Syrian revolution, the revolutionary factions and societal components. This reflects the high state of awareness among our Syrian brothers: may God bless them.
Q: We know that Western support for Israel is very important. In view of this, how can Muslims in the West help Gaza besides financial donations? For example does the tactic of demonstrations serve the interest of Gaza and its people?
A: We must know that people’s positions vary in the crises and events. If we want to speak about what is required, then it is embodied in coming down to the streets and demonstrating there and stopping the institutions and activity in the Western countries – foremost among them the United States – until the war on Gaza should stop. In this call of ours, we concord with the humanitarian position that must be forthcoming from these peoples, and indeed the governments that raise their voice for justice and fairness. These peoples express their identity through their positions: if they stand in the face of oppression and stop it, then they are worth being imitated by people in their sense of justice and civilised behaviour. If they place their head in the dust and ignore the bloodshed and lives being destroyed, this means that the justice the West bandies about amounts to mere slogans that do not go beyond the throats that proclaim it and the ink with which it is written. So our call to the Western peoples is that they should come down to the street, make their voice clear in the squares and demonstrate so that the bloodshed should stop, and they are capable of doing that, as we know.
Q: In view of the relations of some Arab countries with Israel, can it be said that the rulers of these countries have fallen into apostasy and the obligation is to bring them down so that Palestine can be liberated?
A: As for the position on the rulers of the Arab countries, we believe that they have responsibility for the crimes happening in Gaza, for the Arab position has not been at the required level at all. For the farcical Arab position – and indeed conspiratorial one – has in the past contributed to encouraging Israel to commit massacres with a green Arab light and without any obstruction. Whereas we hoped that the Arab armies equipped with arms and neighbouring our occupied lands would contribute to helping the Palestinian revolutionaries, we have seen them repress the youth and prevent them from reaching the borders to clash with the Zionists. This is a traitorous position that history records.
All the rulers of the Arab countries have colluded with Israel to kill and wipe out the people of Gaza, and they have compromised on the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites so they can remain in their positions and seats of rule, and there is no power or force except in God.
Therefore, I call on the Arab and Islamic peoples to take the initiative to participate in this holy battle.
The battle of humanity in the face of barbarism.
The battle of justice in the face of oppression.
The battle of truth in the face of falsehood.
The battle of Islam and the holy sites in the face of disbelief and atheism.
These are wars whereby the one who refrains from waging them to remain safe will later feel sorry for having done so.
So take the initiative, oh our brothers, and help your brothers and aid them in their holy battle against the forces of oppression and arrogance.
That’s all, and may God reward you best for giving us the opportunity to speak about what is going through our souls, and we hope our words will reach those who implement them and can play a role in reducing the suffering of our oppressed people in Gaza. And praise be to God the Lord of the Worlds.
