Hamas on Sunday called for an “immediate end” to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, justifying the bloody attack on Israel on October 7 as a “necessary step”, reports AFP.

Shortly afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “categorically” rejected the terms of the “monster Hamas”, which demanded “an end to the war, the withdrawal of our troops from Gaza” and “the release of all criminals and rapists”. “to free the hostages held in Gaza.

In a nearly twenty-page document released in English and Arabic, the first-of-its-kind Islamist movement, declared theoretical by the United States, the European Union and Israel, says it wants to present “its version” to the public.

In it, Hamas calls for an end to “Israeli aggression” and “categorically” rejects “international or Israeli plans to resolve the future of the Gaza Strip.”

Despite its unilateral withdrawal in 2005, Israel is still considered, under international law, the occupying power of the territory captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Hamas came to power in 2007.

Although the Oct. 7 attack killed 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures, Hamas says it “did everything possible to avoid civilian casualties,” but admits that there were “mistakes”.

That day, hundreds of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip entered Israel by vehicle, air and sea.

Numerous videos show gunmen indiscriminately killing civilians on the streets, in homes and at a music festival in several locations.

About 250 people were taken hostage in an attack of unprecedented violence and scale, and Israel said 132 people were still being held captive in Gaza, 28 of whom were believed to have died, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israeli authorities have proven that these Hamas commandos committed rape, genital mutilation, pedophilia and necrophilia. Hamas, however, rejected the accusations.

Witnesses and experts interviewed by AFP said the confusion in the early days and the scale of the attack meant it was not yet possible to get a clear picture of the abuses or their systematic nature.

“Errors”

Hamas admits that “mistakes may have been made in the Al-Aqsa flood relief operation due to the sudden collapse of the security forces and military apparatus and the chaos created along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.”

“Avoiding harm to the civilian population, especially children, women and the elderly, is the religious and moral duty of Al-Qassam Brigade fighters,” he continued, referring to his armed wing.

“If civilians were targeted, it was by chance and during a confrontation with the occupying forces,” he continued.

He also called for “an immediate end to the Israeli aggression in Gaza, as well as the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire population of Gaza.”

According to the Hamas Health Ministry, 25,105 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women, children and teenagers, have been killed by Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

Regarding the future of the territory, Hamas says that “the Palestinian people have the opportunity to decide their future”, insisting that “no one in the world” has the right to decide for them.

It said that “the Israeli occupation bears legal responsibility for the suffering it has caused the Palestinian people”, accusing it of “crimes against the civilian population, infrastructure, hospitals, schools, mosques and churches”.