The Israeli government insists that Hamas formally sanctioned sexual assault on October 7, 2023. But investigators say the evidence does not stand up to scrutiny. Catherine Philp and Gabrielle Weiniger report on eight months of claim and counter-claim
Talk of rape began circulating almost before the massacres themselves were over. Much of it came from what Patten would later call “non-professionals” who supplied “inaccurate and unreliable forensic interpretations” of what they found, creating an instant but flawed narrative about what had taken place.
Meanwhile, the political establishment has opened a fresh battle with the UN over what the Patten report didn’t say: that sexual violence was beyond reasonable doubt, systematic, widespread and ordered and perpetrated by Hamas. Israeli advocates for the female survivors are now warning that the country’s refusal to co-operate with a full and legal investigation, which the carefully worded report was not, threatens the prospect of ever finding out the full truth about the sexual violence of October 7 and delivering justice for its victims.
It was not a legal investigation, Patten explained, as Israel had not allowed one: that mandate could only be fulfilled by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which Israel has refused to work with since its inception. She hoped that would change.
Patten made it clear there was sufficient evidence of acts of sexual violence to merit full and proper investigation and expressed her shock at the brutality of the violence. The report also confirmed Israeli authorities were unable to provide much of the evidence that political leaders had insisted existed. In all the Hamas video footage Patten’s team had watched and all the photographs they had seen, there were no depictions of rape. We hired a leading Israeli dark-web researcher to look for evidence of those images, including footage deleted from public sources. None could be found.
If only those fools from the UN team had spent their money on that, instead of a team of experts in sexual assault who then toured the affected areas and interviewed all those people and reviewed forensic evidence. The answers were on the dark web the whole time. Everyone knows the first thing you learn in Hamas is how to use Tor Browser. Now that you say it that way, it’s completely obvious.
Which forensic rape evidence was found? You’re bringing it up so surely you mean to imply there’s forensic evidence of rape in the UN report?
Why would I need to tell you? You’ve read the report, you said, so you would know what is and isn’t in it.
A sarcastic response occurred to me, so I let it out, but I’m not interested in continuing the lengthy dishonest exchange where you cosplay as someone who’s “winning” (for reasons I still don’t really understand.) The interaction is done from my side.
There’s a new UN report out. Some interesting reading material for you maybe.
But they did find rape evidence… of israel raping Palestinians.
Second message portion (2/2). This is the recommendations. If you want to keep talking with me, you can start with this section, answering some of the unanswered questions and following the recommendations on how you can engage more productively in the conversation. If you’re open to doing that, then sure! Let’s rap.
Chapter 4: Recommendations
Section 4.1: Questions for Linkerbaan to Address
Substantive Responses to Specific Questions:
Clarification of Evidence Claims:
Address Misrepresentation Concerns:
Section 4.2: Steps for Productive Engagement
Engage with Nuanced Points:
Provide Clear Citations:
Acknowledge Other Viewpoints:
This structured report aims to objectively assess the engagement of Linkerbaan in the specified comment chain, highlighting areas of evasion, misrepresentation, and providing constructive recommendations for future discussions.
If you don’t want to engage on a subject consider not replying to a thread. One can’t make false rape accusations and then be upset when they get debunked.
Why are you rejecting my good faith efforts to help you with productively engaging in the conversation
I typed up a whole report just for you Linkerbaan
Which forensic evidence was it again? Couldn’t find it in your response.
I hope I have at least brought some entertainment to your working day. Have a good one