by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas Chair(man)
Deir al-Balah, September 2 – The indignities never end with our Jewish oppressors. First they kill us and take our land. Then they refuse to lie down and die when we attempt to reverse the situation. Then they have the gall to come after us when we kill more than a thousand of them in a single day. And NOW, to add to the insult, they disseminate reports that I try to evade identification and capture – or worse – by wearing female clothing. I would never, ever do such a thing because I reject the imperialist gender binary and the entire assumption that there is such a thing as “women’s” clothing!
This is an assault on my very existence as a – well, I grant it might be hard to tease out what part of my very existence upsets them. That will not stop me from insisting every Israeli attempt to harm me stems from transphobia. As if I would buy into such patriarchal notions as “dressing as a female.” I live my authentic life, being the true Yahya, regardless of oppressive sartorial mores. If the Jews don’t like that, they can leave.
OK, so they did leave, in 2005, and we still kept attacking them, but you get the point. I cannot be my true self if confined to the keffiyeh as a “man’s” garment or hijab as a “woman’s” accoutrement. That cisnormative mentality had wrought far too much destruction. I refuse to permit it to govern my clothing choices. Let the enemy keep guessing how I choose to dress. Maybe I’m a woman certain days of the week. Maybe I’m neither. You won’t hold ME hostage to the patriarchy.
That would be cultural appropriation.
You will note how on and after October 7, my followers raped Israelis of all genders, not only reserving such treatment for “women.” All ages, too, while they were at it. We are the progressive side in this conflict.
Personally, I never insisted only on raping women, either. My reputation for sexual brutality against fellow Palestinians of any gender speaks for itself.
One thing, though: if I am killed in an Israeli operation, I insist my death be counted as a woman, or maybe a child, in the finest Palestinian casualty tallying tradition. That Palestinian tradition always values pain to the enemy more highly than actual achievement for oneself. For the sake of our honor, I will waive my insistence on maintaining my non-binary identity.
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