Senior Hamas leader: Riots at Gaza border are win-win for Palestinians. If rioters cross borders, Israel is embarrassed, if Israel murders rioters, Israel is exposed to the world
Al-Araby TV YouTube channel (London) program Personal Interview, hosting former Head of the Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Mashaal
Former Head of the Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Mashaal: "The members of our people in Gaza turned to creative thinking six weeks ago – the peaceful Great March of Return (i.e., violent riots on the Gazan border with Israel). This has caused great concern in Israel, as it exposes it before the world. It is in a state of confusion, pressure, and embarrassment: If it lets the [Palestinian] masses cross [the border] this causes it embarrassment, and if it murders them in cold blood – as it has actually done – this exposes it before the world. In both situations it commits a crime and our people wins."
"The March of Return" refers to massive violent riots in Gaza in which thousands of Palestinians are rioting on the border with Israel and attempting to cut through the security fence, attacking with firebombs, flaming kites, and gunfire. The riots began on March 30, 2018, and were scheduled to
last for 6 weeks until Palestinian "Nakba" Day on May 15. On the day the US embassy opened in Jerusalem, May 14, 2018, the Palestinian attacks escalated and 62 Palestinians were killed. A senior official of the terror organization Hamas, Salah Bardawil, stated that 50 of the 62 belonged to Hamas, while Islamic Jihad identified 3 others as belonging to it.
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli research institute, published research documenting that from the start of the riots on March 30 until May 15, 93 of the 112 Palestinians killed in the riots (approximately 83%) were members of terrorist organizations.
Petitions against the IDF's use of live fire to combat the rioting submitted by organizations that advocate for Palestinian rights were rejected by Israel's Supreme Court on May 24, 2018. The court accepted the state's argument that the riots were "organized and directed" by Hamas, a terrorist organization, and thereby rejecting the claim that the riots were peaceful and civilian in nature. PMW reports were referred to in the Supreme Court's decision.