The Senior Hamas leader, Fathi Hammad, has been labeled by the State Department as a 'global terrorist'. This branding has come with questions due to Hammad's actions or lack thereof. Hammad himself even stated, "I don't know why they picked me". Hammad is linked to the creation of a TV station known as Al-Asqa which is said to be a "primary Hamas media outlet with programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood".
The Washington Post reports that no evidence was supported for the branding of Hammad. However, Hammad has used this labeling as fuel for his cause. Hammad stated, "I feel proud that I managed to anger America". The article concluded with a message to the American people from Hammad. "I would like to deliver a message to the American people,” he continued. “Your administration is cheating you, the president is lying to you. They are taking your money, money that should spent on health care, on education, on poor people, and they give it to Israel, which is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world." This is a very resounding statement from the recently labeled global terrorist. With $38 billion being sent to Israel over a 10 year span, Hammad's claims have reason. On the contrary, Palestine has received upwards of "$5 billion in bilateral economic and non-lethal security assistance to the Palestinians", this being quoted from the Congressional Research Service. With the ongoing debate of Israel versus Palestine, Fathi Hammad is a name to pay attention to as the war in the Middle East continues.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/palestinian-leader-says-he-is-proud-to-be-branded-a-global-terrorist-by-us/2016/09/18/d2aac6c8-492f-4040-8b76-2c0a37ea4653_story.html
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22967.pdf
-Drew Truckenmiller
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