Palestinian Activist Tells Hamas To 'Accept Israel's Offers For Peace'

Bassem Eid is a Palestinian Human Rights Activist and Founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group who lives in the West Bank.

Since October 7, Eid has been criticised for using his social media platforms and presence in the US to call for Hamas' removal. Eid has also been slammed for refusing to support the 'from the river to the sea' chant.

Yesterday, Sunday 28 September, the Palestinian Activist was criticised after he published his controversial beliefs in an opinion piece published in Newsweek.

In his statement, Eid wrote: "As a Palestinian who genuinely yearns for a two-state solution and an improvement in living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, I believe this truth must be told."

For years, Eid put his Activism towards fighting the human rights violations committed by Israel's government and the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

However, the Founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, based in Jerusalem, has since adapted his attention to include the human rights violations committed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

A few years after Hamas were officially voted into power in Gaza, in 2007, Eid has been travelling to and from the US as an Activist.

Reports claim that the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group Founder has been visiting the US to update the American authorities on the most recent atrocities committed by Hamas.

During his visits to the US, Eid has since slammed pro-Palestinians for recognising Hamas as a group of freedom fighters instead of a proscribed terrorist organisation.

"Those who are living in Europe and in America who are celebrating the massacre by considering themselves as pro-Palestinians, I don't think that they are pro-Palestinians. .... [They have] no idea what is really going on to celebrate massacres. This is completely unhuman," the Activist told reporters.

With reference to the Palestinian Arab Nationalist movement, Eid continued with: "Unfortunately, the views of the antisemitic Palestinian political heads often overshadow the voices of real Palestinians who yearn for peace."

In his statement, the former Director of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group called Palestinian Liberation Organisation Chairman and Fatah Party Leader Yasser Arafat a "mastermind mass murderer" whose "betrayal shattered any illusion of a commitment to a peaceful resolution from the Palestinian side".

Although the Activist recognised how Israeli settlements were a violation of peace, Eid was met with much criticism after he told his readers that "Israel has consistently made genuine efforts toward peace, only to be met with rejection, treachery, and blood-curdling violence by the Palestinian side".

"This pattern of refusal, particularly epitomised by groups like Hamas, has been the real obstacle to peace," the Palestinian Activist added.

One social media user responded to Eid's beliefs, saying: "You're just making sure your paycheck will be issued on time!"

Another account wrote: "Man you are just a clown in their big circus."

Eid's controversial call for peace comes as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the US Congresswoman and Representative, refused to accuse Israel of genocide in its actions against Gaza.

In just 16 weeks of conflict, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said that more than 26,420 people have been killed in Gaza.

Civilians in Khan Younis, a city located in the southern Gaza Strip, are facing a siege after Israel launched an air raid operation on the region.

Before October 7, Khan Younis was home to approximately 88,000 Palestinians. Since the Israeli military pushed civilians to move from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip, as part of its ground offensive, an estimated 425,000 internally displaced people are now living in the tiny coastal territory.

According to the IDF, the intense bombardment of the southern region comes as an attempt to exert economic pressure on Hamas.