{"id":279939,"date":"2026-09-06T07:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T07:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/279939\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T07:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T07:35:07","slug":"gazan-activist-calls-for-peace-with-israel-blames-hamas-for-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/279939\/","title":{"rendered":"Gazan activist calls for peace with Israel, blames Hamas for war"},"content":{"rendered":"

The path out of Gaza began, Moumen Al-Natour said, with men at his door. In July 2025, he said Hamas operatives came to his house in Gaza City\u2019s al-Shati refugee camp and ordered him to go to Shifa Hospital<\/a> for questioning by Hamas\u2019 internal security service. Al-Natour refused. He managed to escape, leaving behind Hamas<\/a> operatives who demanded to know: \u201cWhere is Moumen?\u201d<\/p>\n

For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org<\/a><\/p>\n

The men who came for him, he said, did not come only for him. \u201cThey threatened my family, all of my members in my family, my mother, my sisters, my brothers,\u201d Al-Natour said. He fled to another location, moving through Khan Yunis and Al-Mawasi in search of a way out. What happened next would take him through a militia-controlled area, into contact with international advocates and, eventually, to Italy\u2013physically safe, but far from the city, family and future he still calls his own.<\/p>\n

The Media Line previously spoke with Al-Natour in April 2025, when he was trapped in Gaza. His account is not simply the story of a man who escaped danger. It is the argument of a Gazan lawyer, human rights advocate, and founder of the We Want to Live movement<\/a> who believes Gaza must be separated from Hamas if either Gazans or Israelis are to have a future beyond recurring war. The foundation of every proposal he advances, every warning he issues, and every appeal he makes to world leaders: \u201cGaza is not Hamas. And Hamas is not Gaza,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After leaving his home, Al-Natour said he reached out to the Center for Peace Communications in the United States, which he said helped him explore ways to reach safety. He later went to an area under the control of Yasser Abu Shabab\u2019s militia while arrangements were being considered for an evacuation to Canada. An Italian lawyer, Alessandra Casola, also worked to help evacuate him and his family, according to Al-Natour.<\/p>\n

His family, he said, reached Italy toward the end of September 2025. But his own request to leave was initially refused by Abu Shabab, who, Al-Natour said, wanted him to join the militia.<\/p>\n

Al-Natour rejects armed rule<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me, I\u2019m the president and you are the prime minister,\u201d Al-Natour recalled. His answer was unequivocal: \u201cI refused this because I want to be in government, not in militia.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Al-Natour, rejecting the offer was a rejection of armed rule in any form. \u201cI want to make a service for my people. I want to save the civilians,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to be a gang man.\u201d He said photographs published of him later made him a target of Hamas media allegations that he was connected to a spy program, an accusation he denied. \u201cI want peace between us and Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to be a spy for anyone, for any country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked directly whether Hamas had targeted him because of his past work, Al-Natour did not hesitate. \u201cYes, yes, yes,\u201d he said. Before October 7, he said, he had spoken out about his rights and the rights of his community, describing Hamas as seeking \u201cto impose a form of strong power over the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That history of confrontation with Hamas has shaped the message Al-Natour has carried into exile. He said he has not received a direct response from the US administration, although the White House retweeted an article he wrote for the Washington Post about moving civilians from Hamas-controlled areas to a new area inside the Yellow Line. But his appeal extends beyond Washington to anyone with influence over Gaza\u2019s future: \u201cWe want to return to our city, to our country without Hamas. And we want to create a peace agreement between us and Israel. And we don\u2019t want war.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his opinion, Hamas makes renewal impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I believe with Hamas inside Gaza, we can\u2019t do anything. We can\u2019t rebuild Gaza<\/a>. We can\u2019t make new ideas inside Gaza,\u201d he told The Media Line. He described Hamas\u2019 reach into religious institutions and education, saying it controlled more than 1,000 mosques and used schools to expose children to instruction on weapons. \u201cAnd I know this is very bad for the generations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His own aspiration is far less complicated, and he repeated it until it became the interview\u2019s refrain: \u201cFor me, I don\u2019t want war. I want to live. I want to live. I want to work. I want my rights.\u201d He contrasted the rights he sees people enjoy in Italy, Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia with what he said he could not obtain in his own city.<\/p>\n

When the discussion turned to the possibility of Hamas entering future Palestinian elections, Al-Natour offered a stark warning. He said Gazans reject Hamas\u2019 inclusion in a new Gaza or Palestinian government and argued that allowing the organization to participate would invite another catastrophe.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if Hamas is inside Gaza, I think after 20 years, 30 years, a new leader in Hamas will make another 7th of October. And we don\u2019t want that.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can Gaza have an election?<\/p>\n

He also questioned how a meaningful election could take place amid destruction and territorial fragmentation. \u201cHow we can make an election in a 30% area from Gaza Strip?\u201d he asked. \u201cHow we can make that? This election is very bad for us. And I don\u2019t want this election to succeed.\u201d In his view, Hamas\u2019 participation would endanger not only Gaza but the West Bank as well.<\/p>\n

Al-Natour said he has been discussing a plan since January 2024 to separate Hamas fighters from civilians. He proposed checkpoints around a designated zone to screen people entering it, arguing that such a process could be more reliable than accepting a promise by Hamas to disarm.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I know Hamas,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Hamas want to disarm everything, okay, but I can\u2019t believe Hamas. I can\u2019t trust Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal is entwined with his hope of returning to public life in Gaza. \u201cAnd if the war accepts my plan to separate between the civilians and Hamas … I want to return to my Gaza because I want to be in the government, the new government,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause this is my city.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he also believes physical separation alone is insufficient. In response to a question about demilitarization and the content of school curricula, Al-Natour insisted that Gaza needs \u201ca new school\u201d and \u201ca new education for the next generation.\u201d He described an economic future tied to relations with Israel, including opportunities for Gazan workers to work and earn money there. \u201cWithout Israel, we can\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The alternative, in his view, is a Gaza trapped in the patterns of conflict that have already devastated other countries. \u201cAnd if we refuse to resolve the education and most speech, I think Gaza will be like Afghanistan, like Sudan, like any country has a war,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to resolve everything, and we want to write new books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teaching Islamic ideals while rejecting radicalization<\/p>\n

Al-Natour framed this change not as a rejection of Islam but as a rejection of radicalization. He said Islamic teachings offer \u201ca lot of good things to learn the generations,\u201d while condemning Hamas\u2019 radical messaging in mosques and streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I hate Hamas. I hate Hamas’s ideas. I hate Hamas radical people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He pointed to what he had seen during visits to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2019, saying he admired imams whom he believed taught people how to be \u201cgood and nice.\u201d He wants a similar ethos in Gaza, education and religious instruction, he said, that teach acceptance \u201cwithout any radical ideas\u201d and \u201cwithout hates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I love that. I love that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Al-Natour does not claim that everyone in Gaza shares his view. When asked how many Gazans might oppose Hamas, he answered carefully: \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know the numbers.\u201d But he then offered his own assessment: \u201cMore than 70% of Gaza people hate Hamas, and they refuse Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Palestinians carry their own beliefs and grievances regarding Israel and the question of statehood. \u201cOkay, we want to live like neighbors with Israel, but Israel must create a new state for Palestinians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether a political resolution could emerge through cooperation rather than armed conflict, Al-Natour argued that a functioning Palestinian government would be essential. \u201cThe government of Israel cannot talk with everyone inside Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if we have a government, I think we can talk, because this is very important for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

His answer broadened beyond politics into a simple declaration of coexistence. \u201cI like Jewish people, and I like Christian people, and I like Muslim people,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t have any problem with the religion of Israel, or Jewish religion. I want to live just, okay, I want my rights, but without war. War destroys us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claim carries the weight of a life he described as measured in wars. He recalled witnessing Hamas\u2019 2007 takeover from the Palestinian Authority and subsequent conflicts between Hamas and Israel in 2008-09, 2012, 2014 and 2021, as well as conflict involving Islamic Jihad.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in 2023, I led, I have been led in another war from 7th October until now,\u201d he said, asking: \u201cHow I can build my future with radical people, with wars?\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Natour answered his own question with the image of a house. To build a future, he said, one must bring the materials to build it and then improve it, not destroy it and start again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween, from 20 years, we are building houses, just houses. After that, Hamas make[s] wars and Israel [is bombing us. This building is destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cHow we can build our future with wars? How we can build our economics with wars?\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his media appearances, Al-Natour said he has not met with a government anywhere in the world. He described a world consumed by other conflicts and said Gaza has been ignored, even as civilians struggle in tents without clean water or food.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, if you want to eat in Gaza, you must obey. You must obey,\u201d he told The Media Line, alleging that Hamas takes what people need to survive.<\/p>\n

His appeal is for Gaza to be rebuilt through cooperation, not abandoned to Hamas or to another cycle of war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to rebuild our city, and we want to build our state with Israel,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to cooperate with Israel. In security, in civilian, in civil situation, and everything. Because, we are neighbors. Not enemies. Not enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al-Natour insisted that personal ambition is not what motivates him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not interested to be a leader for Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, I want to save my people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet he remains painfully aware of what he has lost. His wife remains in Gaza, he said, while bureaucratic difficulties have complicated efforts to reunite his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked about this for the Italian government, for anyone here in Italy. But, I didn\u2019t hear any answer from them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His hope, he said, is not exile.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my city. I want to return to my house. I want to feel established. Like, before 7th of October, my house, my family, my people, my friends, my relatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Italy offers safety but not belonging. He describes himself as a stranger in Italy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not my community. This is not my people. Not my culture,\u201d he said, adding that he respects the country and its people.<\/p>\n

Still, he wants his own people, even though he knows returning to Gaza would be dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I know Hamas. I know Hamas. Hamas is Hamas \u2026 They will kill me. They will kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Hamas\u2019 internal security apparatus remains a particular source of fear. Referring to what he described as an Israeli special-forces operation in the Al-Katiba area in which the head of Hamas\u2019 internal security was captured, he spoke in accusatory terms:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis man [Muain al-Arabid] is very radical. This man murdered us \u2026 this man hit us. This man is very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Al-Natour, the danger is not confined to individual Hamas security officials. Asked what he wanted to see happen to Hamas\u2019 internal security apparatus, he answered immediately:<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to eliminate them. I want to eliminate them. I don\u2019t want to see them another time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Hamas \u201cmade this war\u201d and accused the group of manipulating regional and international actors as it seeks to regain power:<\/p>\n

\u201cThey play with Israel. They play with the US. They play with Egypt, Qatar, Turkey. They play with everyone. They want to return to the government. They want to return to the control of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

His urgency deepens when he speaks of children born during the war and of civilians, he said, still deprived of basic rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have generations now. They were born from the beginning in this war. We want these boys to return to the schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him, the prescription remains unchanged:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to resolve the situation in Gaza, everything. Education, most speeches, everything. You must separate between us and Hamas. You must take Hamas outside Gaza. If Hamas wants to fight, they can fight. Alone. Without human shields.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he could sit across from one world leader, Al-Natour said, it would be Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong man. And, he has a power. Big power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His request was for recognition that Gaza\u2019s people are distinct from the organization that rules them.<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor people. They want to just live. Without any fight. Without any wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he returned once more to the line that defines his appeal:<\/p>\n

\u201cHamas. Hamas is a part of Gaza. Not all of Gaza. Gaza is not Hamas. And Hamas is not Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Al-Natour, separating the two is the condition for families to return home, for children to return to school and hospitals, for a new government to emerge, and for Gaza to become a place where people can build rather than rebuild.<\/p>\n

He also argued that future regional engagement must be conditioned on a complete break with Hamas, and he voiced concern that Gaza could remain trapped while people wait out political cycles in Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think 2027 will be like 2026 for Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also alleged that international assistance intended for Gaza\u2019s civilians is diverted to Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aids and the money. They don\u2019t reach to poor people in Gaza. The money reaches to Hamas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The charge formed part of his plea to those outside Gaza to distinguish, in his view, between helping a civilian population and strengthening Hamas.<\/p>\n

His final plea was unmistakable:<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, hear \u2026 us. It\u2019s enough. It\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The path out of Gaza began, Moumen Al-Natour said, with men at his door. In July 2025, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[496,1411,37,30630,715],"class_list":["post-279939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-shifa-hospital","tag-the-media-line"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117222947325430258","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}