Hebrew → English transcript

One of the biggest questions that remains to this day without a definitive answer was why Hamas chose to carry out its strategic attack at the specific timing it chose.

One of the theories that arose was that Hamas wanted to stop at all costs the rush toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia under the Abraham Accords.

Captured documents seized in the Gaza Strip were analyzed by the Amit Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute and are revealed here tonight.

They reveal that Hamas was very concerned about the possibility of Saudi Arabia signing a normalization agreement with Israel,

because the organization believed, and rightly so, that such an agreement would lead to a wave of similar agreements with other Arab countries,

in a way that would sideline the Palestinian issue.

Once a country like Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Sunni Arab world, goes ahead and normalizes relations with Israel,

then this, of course, diminishes and almost renders Hamas's role irrelevant.

February 2022, a year and eight months before the October 7th attack,

Hamas leadership in Gaza holds a meeting in which a dramatic decision is made to establish a Jewish department.

whose role is to manage the strategy of the struggle against normalization

The minutes of the meeting published here state:

This office will oversee the formulation of the vision, the philosophy of the struggle, the general policy, and the work plans

and will implement them while monitoring through coordination and cooperation with all components and tools

through which the movement operates within this framework

They drafted a series of steps and recommendations, both within the movement, and on the media and political levels

This troubled them greatly and gave them no peace

But Hamas understood that Gaza alone could not bear the burden by itself

Hamas estimated that an escalation in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem could significantly contribute to the organization's efforts to thwart the normalization process

Therefore, one of the recommendations in the document was to work to encourage escalation in these areas

And in one of the seized documents, it was written as follows:

We must act to increase the escalation on the ground, in the West Bank and Jerusalem, to disrupt the Saudi Kingdom's normalization process

The situation on the ground is one of the most important tools for curbing normalization

Given that the Second Intifada was the main factor that led to the explosion of the normalization project presented within the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative

It is upon you, you must prepare for a great battle

which will not bow to dictate the future of the framework

In those days, Hamas did everything to promote escalation in the Territories and East Jerusalem

and it also succeeded in doing so in some places

An IDF soldier was killed this morning in a car-ramming attack at the Maccabim checkpoint

A second soldier was seriously injured; the pace of attacks is only increasing

and there is no change in the manner

However, the seized documents show that as time went on during 2023

the Hamas leadership began to realize that its efforts to thwart the progress of the normalization process

were not yielding the desired fruits, and that the normalization train was speeding toward its destination

What will it take for you to agree to normalization with Israel?

Two weeks before the October 7 attack, the Hamas leadership in Gaza held a crucial meeting on this issue

At the head of the table sits Yahya Sinwar, presenting a position paper to those present

Under the heading: Dealing with the normalization process between Saudi Arabia and Israel

And this is how Sinwar was quoted in the minutes:

Normalization is an absolute evil, and there is no difference between one country and another in normalization.

However, Saudi Arabia has a special status at the Arab and Islamic level,

and great influence, and this is an unfortunate, disturbing, reprehensible, and puzzling step.

And then Sinwar goes head-on against the Saudi Crown Prince with very harsh words:

Bin Salman seeks to establish his image as the leader of the region at the expense of all countries, including Egypt.

Leadership of the region must pass through the Israeli gate and American understandings.

His grand ambitions and political madness

have implications for our cause and for the region, and herein lies the danger of this step.

We emphasize, this is the protocol of a meeting that took place just two weeks before the October 7 attack,

and in the quotes, one can already clearly discern what Sinwar knows and most of those in the room do not:

The war is already at the doorstep.

Hamas is not a negligible party, Sinwar tells those present, thanks to its resistance, it can disrupt the plans.

Just as we played a role in thwarting Oslo,

we will play a role in denouncing this Zionist enemy and sending a message to the normalization partners

that the Israeli occupation is not an oasis of security and stability.

We may not succeed in stopping the move, but we will disrupt it and strip it of legitimacy.

We will meet with representatives from around the world and bring peace closer between the State of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

On October 2, 2023, the Hamas leadership holds a crucial meeting.

This is the last meeting before the October 7 attack.

In this meeting, Sinwar defined the normalization efforts with Saudi Arabia as a move that would lead to regional deterioration.

But this time, Sinwar's conclusion was far-reaching.

Pay attention to the transcript of his words:

There is no choice but an extraordinary action by the movement and the forces of the resistance axis,

to bring about a major shift or a strategic turn in the paths and balances in the region,

regarding the Palestinian issue, confronting normalization, and the collapse of the region.

Five days later, at 6:29,

Hamas launches an unprecedented war against Israel.

The normalization train between Saudi Arabia and Israel enters a deep freeze that continues to this day

Was this the reason for the attack? It was likely just one of several reasons