Why Is Netanyahu Protecting Hamas From Rape Prosecution?
And why did 45 Democrats vote *with* MAGA Republicans to protect Netanyahu from war crimes prosecution?
In November 2023, Israel declared there was “overwhelming evidence” that Hamas had committed rape and sexual assault during the October 7 attacks. This narrative has since shaped the global discourse. But recent revelations have exposed unsettling truths that challenge this claim—challenges not by critics of Israel—but by Netanyahu and Israeli prosecutors themselves. The Israeli government is quietly retracting its earlier claims of mass and systemic rape, and corporate media is ignoring it altogether. Given our standard must remain absolute justice, it is critical we remain informed and get to the bottom of why Netanyahu is suddenly protecting Hamas. Let’s Address This.
The Silence of Prosecutors
After 16 months of investigations, Israeli authorities have admitted that prosecutors have filed no allegations of rape or sexual assault against Hamas for the October 7 attacks. Prosecutor Moran Gaz is the former head of the security cases division at the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office in Israel, and is a member of 'Team 7.10,' responsible for prosecuting rape and sexual assault crimes that occurred on 10/7. In an interview with Israeli media outlet Ynet News she admits that her department has “found no evidence to substantiate the claims of "mass" and "systematic" rape by Hamas.” She want on to state:
In the end, we don’t have any complainants. What was presented in the media compared to what will eventually come together will be entirely different… We approached women’s rights organisations and asked for cooperation. They told us that no one had approached them.
So, not only could her team find no evidence of mass or systemic rape, even with the help of women’s rights organizations they could not find a single example to prosecute. Moran went on to state that:
[I] want to see everyone who crossed the fence stand trial and receive the death penalty. I don't have a drop of mercy. Sorry. But the path to bringing justice is slow and full of obstacles, especially with regard to sexual offenses. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to prove them. In this matter, I would lower expectations.
How did the Israeli government go from “overwhelming evidence” in November of 2023, to “we don’t have any complainants” after 16 months of investigations? This is a question no one in corporate media is asking, nor is it a question any American politician is demanding an answer to as the US Government continues to send billions in arms to Netanyahu. All this is in and of itself shocking, but the revelations don’t end here. The Israeli government is not only refusing to act on its claims of mass and systemic rape on 10/7, they are now blocking the same UN investigations they demanded in November of 2023.
Blocking Accountability
Israel’s oldest newspaper, Haaretz, reports that Israel is actively blocking the UN from investigating sexual crimes allegedly committed by Hamas on October 7. A thorough investigation could place Hamas on the UN’s blacklist of entities guilty of sexual violence—a critical step toward justice. In fact, dozens of organizations in Israel and globally made this exact demand in November, 2023. Jerusalem Post reported:
The United Nations should declare Hamas’s “documented systematic weaponization of sexual violence a crime against humanity,” according to a letter published Monday from more than 60 ideologically and religiously diverse American and international Jewish organizations. “Despite this overwhelming body of evidence, the UN has yet to list Hamas in the Annex to the Report of the Secretary-General as a party credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict,” the letter said.
And following up on this demand, in a March, 2024 preliminary investigation the UN reported that while there were reasonable grounds to believe acts of sexual violence had occurred, more investigations would be needed, especially given the unexpected finding that:
While there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred in the Nova music festival site, Route 232, and kibbutz Re’im, reported incidents of rape could not be verified in other locations. Concurrently, the team determined that at least two allegations of sexual violence in kibbutz Be’eri — widely reported in the media — were unfounded. [emphasis added].
So to keep track, the narrative transitioned from “overwhelming evidence” in November of 2023, to “reasonable grounds but unfounded rape allegations” in March of 2024, to “we don’t have any complainants” in January of 2025. Does this make any sense to anyone? And to make matters even more obscure, Haaretz is now reporting that even as the UN seeks permission from Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into Hamas’ alleged sex crimes, the Israeli government is blocking access altogether.
So, we must ask—why is Israel obstructing this investigation and protecting Hamas?
The answer lies in what the investigation might reveal about Israel’s own conduct. Haaretz confirms that Israel fears a UN investigation into Hamas would instead expose the rape and sexual violence committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians, reporting:
The UN's special representative on conflict-related sexual violence asked to investigate Hamas' alleged crimes on October 7 and towards the hostages, but Israel refused her request to access Israeli detention facilities to examine claims of IDF abuse. Israeli women's rights groups warn this could lead to Israel, instead of Hamas, being added to the UN's sexual violence blacklist
Clearly, Israel fears that a thorough UN investigation might not only absolve Hamas of the war crimes of rape and sexual assault, but affirm the Israeli military committed the war crime of rape and sexual assault. Again — and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough — these are not my opinions, but the reported statements of the Israeli government, Israeli prosecutors, Israeli women’s rights organizations, and Israeli media. Why are U.S. politicians still funding Netanyahu despite this, and why is western media still silent about this?
Evidence of Israeli War Crimes
The evidence against the Israeli government for committing war crimes is damning, and in fact overwhelming. ProPublica reported in April, 2024 that a special U.S. State Department panel recommended disqualifying several Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations of serious human rights abuses, including the rape of Palestinian prisoners and children by the Israeli military. Secretary of State Antony Blinken refused to act on these recommendations, and instead knowingly testified to the opposite to Congress. These abuses aren’t hypothetical—they’re backed by concrete reports and the include:
Extrajudicial killings by Israeli Border Police.
The death of an elderly Palestinian American man who was gagged and handcuffed by an Israeli battalion.
The rape and torture of a Palestinian teenager accused of throwing rocks.
And none of this is second hand. We have video evidence confirming that Israeli forces raped Palestinian prisoners at Sde Teiman prison. The U.S. State Department acknowledged this video and yet refused to act or uphold the US Leahy Laws which forbids the US Government from sending arms to any nation credibly accused of war crimes. Instead, the U.S. State Department inexplicably called on the Israeli government to investigate itself of rape and report back.
Can you imagine any logical scenario where a credibly accused rapist—with video evidence of the rape—is then empowered to investigate themselves?
MAGA’s Shield for Netanyahu
I commend the International Criminal Court for filing arrest warrants for Hamas leaders and for Israeli leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. But now, adding to the outrage of Israel’s aforementioned obstructionism into investigating rape allegations against Hamas, MAGA Republicans—and 45 Democrats—have voted to sanction the ICC for prosecuting Netanyahu for war crimes. On the very day of President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, no less—a president who boldly called out Israel’s apartheid policies—MAGA Republicans chose to shield Netanyahu of war crimes prosecution, and 45 Democrats inexplicably joined them.
President Biden, meanwhile, has announced that one of his final acts in office will be to send $8 billion more in military aid to Netanyahu’s government, even as the UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and our own U.S. State Department confirm Israeli war crimes. This is not just a failure of justice—it’s a moral abdication of duty. No one is above the law. The fact that Israel is obstructing investigations because they fear exposure of their own crimes is indefensible. And the fact that our US Congress is prioritizing protecting a credibly accused war criminal over the dozens of crises we face here at home is beyond reprehensible.
What Must Be Done To Uphold Justice?
In conclusion, at a minimum we must demand the following:
Immediate and transparent investigations into all allegations of sexual violence and war crimes committed by both Hamas and Israeli forces. The entire narrative has focused on “overwhelming evidence” of mass rape committed by Hamas. To suddenly claim “there is no evidence” means either the Israeli government lied over the past 16 months, or the Israeli government is complicit in covering up crimes of mass rape. Which one is it?
An end to U.S. military aid to Israel until these investigations are completed and accountability is ensured, just as our Leahy Laws require. We cannot claim to be a country of laws and international rules based order, as Biden often states, and then violate our most foundational human rights laws as the Israeli government bombs and kills hundreds of thousands of Palestinians (per the Lancet study).
Transparency from our elected officials, especially those who voted to shield Netanyahu from prosecution. Why do they believe certain people are above the law? In a functioning democracy, no person is above the law. Israel cannot simultaneously be “the only democracy in the Middle East” and also have a head of state who is above the law. Our members of Congress cannot claim to uphold the US Constitution, which specifically condemns monarchial rule, and then demand monarchial powers be granted to their friends.
The bottom line is that these atrocities cannot be ignored. Justice for the victims—whether Palestinian or Israeli—requires confronting the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. The failure of corporate media is just one more reason why this human rights newsletter exists. It’s why I am grateful for your trust, support, and partnership. If you value my researched writing and want to stay informed on these critical issues, subscribe below. Together, we can hold the powerful accountable and demand a world where our standard is not partisanship or billionaire influence, but absolute justice for all people.
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I don't think there's a Nobel Prize for something like "Let's Address This." There should be.
I will never understand our complicity in this. Ever.