Mohammad Massad says he was only eight years old when he was pulled out of a classroom by keffiyeh-masked men and taken to a road to throw rocks at Israeli soldiers and chant that he was willing to “die for Palestine” during the 1982 Lebanon War.
Now, Massad, 48, lives in Haifa as an Israeli citizen and believes Hamas needs to be obliterated.
“Destroying Hamas is not a decision made in secret meetings or around tables,” he told The Daily Wire. “It is a decree by God, the Creator of the world.”
FORMER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST CALLS FOR THE OBLITERATION OF HAMAS
Massad was born in the Arab town of Burquin in the West Bank to a family with strong ties to the group Fatah, which was considered a terrorist organization by the United States at the time.
“I was surrounded by a culture that preached hatred toward Jews, plotting their murder, their annihilation, their removal, and their expulsion into the sea,” he said.
Now living in Israel, where he says he enjoys “the same rights as any Israeli Jew,” he has turned on his former fellow terrorists.
“I reside in this country and I view it as my home, so I feel obligated to defend it, to safeguard its security with all my might,” he said.
Massad said he helped the Israeli government prevent dozens of terrorist attacks and dismantle hundreds of terror cells.
“I prevented much bloodshed and many killings and murders on both sides,” he said. “I was most successful in this role because of my background. Coming from within the ranks of the terrorists, I understood their mindset, their plans, their strategies, and their intentions.”
Massad was just a teenager when he became part of Fatah’s military arm, the Black Panthers, and was first arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces when he was 15 years old and held for three months for throwing rocks at soldiers in 1990.
“I was surrounded by a culture that preached hatred toward Jews”
Just a year later, he was arrested again with other Panthers for holding an Israeli driver who was pulled over while his accomplices looked for an Israeli soldier to abduct, according to the Jerusalem Post. He was held for two and half years until he was released as part of the Oslo Accords and returned to the West Bank.
“For 20 years, I stayed among the Palestinians, battling for the liberation of the Palestinian people,” he said. “This continued until corrupt members from Fatah and Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority and subjugated the Palestinian people.”
Mohammad Massad as a teenager holding an AK-47. (Courtesy of Mohammad Massad)
He called the subjugation of the more empowered Yassar Arafat regime as “harsh” and “more challenging than the Israeli occupation.”
“I began to resist the corruption within the Authority and the terrorists trying to make them understand that a war for freedom should not involve shedding blood,” he said. “A war for freedom is about preserving life for everyone.”
Massad said that he was imprisoned and tortured for 23 days by his fellow Palestinians due to his opposition.
“They made my life a living hell,” he said,
After he was released, he said he worked in Israel illegally and married an Arab-Israeli woman before fleeing to Israel illegally and applying for asylum.
During one of his entries into Israel, he saved an Israeli soldier’s life from a terrorist who tried to take his weapon and was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Israeli Defense Forces, reported the Jerusalem Post.
In his new home where he eventually became a citizen, he said he became acquainted with many Jews, challenging the beliefs he was raised with.
“I became acquainted with the Jewish people and observed that many of them are like angels, people with unparalleled humanity,” he said. “So, I worked against the terrorists.”
Mohammad Massad at a Hannukah celebration in his new home of Israel. (Courtesy of Mohammad Massad)
Massad said he was concerned about an attack such as what happened on Oct. 7 for many years.
“I knew there would come a time when they wouldn’t spare anyone in the world if they had enough power and means,” he said. “Rather than saying they caught the Israelis off guard, it would be more accurate to say that they self-destructed. They decided to commit suicide.”
“I knew there would come a time when they wouldn’t spare anyone in the world”
He said that the terrorist organization oppresses Gazans under its occupation and believes it saw attacking Israel as the only option.
“They had no viable option to continue oppressing their own people and had no chance of succeeding in any of their plans, so they chose suicide.”
Massad, who considers himself a religious man, says Hamas is anti-God.
“These members of Hamas are not true to their faith and are damaging to the religion of God, the guardian of peace,” he said. “They masquerade as religious but are in reality mercenaries of Iran and the army of Satan. They are destined for eradication and obliteration from the world.”
“We are deeply ashamed that such individuals are among us,” he added. “These people lack humanity and have brought disgrace to our people.”
As someone who was involved with a terrorist organization from a young age, Massad said he is concerned about youth being attracted to join Hamas.
“A person lacking in wisdom, culture, and faith will continue to follow them, leading to disaster for themselves, their family, and their entire community,” he said.
He added that the only solution to more war in Israel is for peace-loving people of all religions to join together against evil.
“I want to say that now, all believers in God, regardless of their religious affiliation, are coming together in a unified camp known as the Camp of Light, the Camp of Peace, the Camp of Jerusalem,” he said. “With God’s help we are determined to defeat all terrorists, all criminals, all Iranians, and anyone who supports them, as well as those who belong to the army of Satan, the instigator of conflict.”
Massad said he doesn’t believe Palestinians should remain in Gaza, and instead should be exiled to the Sinai.
“The Sinai Desert is designated as the place of punishment for nations that hinder peace, that oppose peace,” he said, adding that the terrorists from the West Bank should join them. “No politician, no decision-maker, no country, no nation, no union in the world can resolve this issue other than by exiling the Gazans to the Sinai Desert.”
“And we will stay here in the blessed Holy Land as two nations, Muslims and Jews, Arabs and Israelis, striving for peace,” he said.