Minutes of a high-level meeting of Hamas officials, uncovered by the IDF in a tunnel in Gaza, revealed that the October 7 massacre aimed to foil Israeli-Saudi normalization, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
In the meeting that was held just five days before the massacre, then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said an "extraordinary act" was necessary to derail normalization talks that he said would marginalize the Palestinian cause.
Hamas massacre at Re'im on October 7
(IDF)
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Minutes of a Hamas meeting on dangers of Saudi normalization of ties with Israel
(Wall Street Journal)
Sinwar said, according to the records, that the talks on normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia were advancing significantly. They would "open the door for the majority of Arab and Islamic countries to follow the same path,” he warned.
According to the report, that would be unacceptable and called to unleash an attack that had been in the planning for two years, “to bring about a major move or a strategic shift in the paths and balances of the region with regard to the Palestinian cause," the minutes revealed in addition to the expectation that others in "the axis of resistance" would join and support the effort.
The documents seen by the Wall Street Journal showed the growing concern in Hamas over the possible deal mediated by the United States that appeared to be nearing agreement, according to officials from at least three countries.
Another document found in Gaza and seen by the WSJ included the recommendation to increase attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, also to place obstacles in the way of an Israeli-Saudi deal. Hamas, in that report, expressed distrust that Saudi Arabia would protect the interests of the Palestinians and warned that the normalization deal aimed to "neutralize" Hamas.
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Yahya Sinwar killed by IDF
(IDF)
In an internal briefing dated August 2022 and classified as secret, Hamas leaders said it was their duty to protect Palestinian interests in the face of a wave of normalization deals between Arab states and Israel.
According to the WSJ, the IDF uncovered yet another document that was in fact, a wanted ad for someone to lead the efforts to fight the normalization process. It is unclear where such an ad was posted and what the pay offered for such a job would be. Hamas was seeking a university graduate who had experience in negotiations and communications.
First published: 07:52, 05.18.25