Israel Has Killed Far More LGBTQ People Than Hamas Has
A popular Zionist talking point is that LGBTQ people should support Israel because some Palestinians have killed gay people. The most popular examples are in The Contradictions of ‘Queers for Palestine’:
In 2016, Hamas militants executed one of their own commanders, Mahmoud Ishtiwi, for allegedly having sex with another man. Ishtiwi’s allegiance to the group was clear: Just two years prior, he had overseen 1,000 soldiers and an assortment of attack tunnels. But not even his loyalty could save him after they lodged accusations he had engaged in homosexual activity. Prior to executing him with three bullets to the chest, Hamas reportedly tortured him by whipping him, hanging him from a ceiling for hours, and cranking loud music into his cell in order to deprive him of sleep.
Last year, in the West Bank, 25-year-old Ahmed Abu Marhia’s severed head was found on the side of the road after he was murdered for being gay. The killer videoed the execution and shared it on social media.
The writer leaves out inconvenient facts:
- Ishtiwi’s lover was not killed, so it is likely that Ishtiwi was executed for being a thief and informant.
- Homosexuality was decriminalized in the West Bank before it was permitted in Israel, and the West Bank police arrested a suspect.
Zionists who talk about Palestinian LGBTQ deaths never mention comparable hate crimes in Israel:
