Police said to interrogate ex-Ra’am MK for suspected incitement over interview denying Hamas Oct. 7 war crimes

Police reportedly interrogate former Ra’am MK Abdulmalik Dehamshe on suspicion of incitement, over an interview in which he denied Hamas committed war crimes during its October 7, 2023, massacre.

Dehamshe served as a Ra’am lawmaker nearly two decades ago, from 1996 to 2006. He is released following his questioning, subject to restrictions, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

In the interview, given over a year ago to Makan, Israel’s Arabic-language public broadcaster, Dehamshe was met with pushback from interviewers after saying that Hamas played no role in murdering or raping civilians on October 7.

“Show me one photo of Hamas’s people in which they burned, raped or murdered women and babies as they claim. Those who did these things are the Gazan civilians, not Hamas,” he claimed.

He doubled down, claiming that the terror group “fought against the army and police, took prisoners of war that were members of the army and police alone. Those who kidnapped civilians are not Hamas.”

The broadcasting corporation announced that he would no longer be invited to appear on air following the interview.

“There will be no place in our broadcasts for anyone who denies the October 7 massacre,” Kan stated at the time. “Abdulmalik Dehamshe’s remarks were disproved during the broadcast by the program’s hosts, and he was confronted with facts that are clear to everyone.”