The family of Moumen al-Natour, a Gazan lawyer and activist who wrote an anti-Hamas op-ed for The Washington Post, posted a "statement of innocence" on X/Twitter in which they expressed support for Hamas and decried al-Natour on Saturday evening.
The post declared that al-Natour's views represent only himself, a “perpetrator,” and that the rest of his family remains "an integral part of the resistant national fabric."
Al-Natour's opinion piece, published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, described two hypothetical Gazas, one "that is desperate for Trump's plan to succeed," and one that is "pulled back into the abyss" by Hamas rule.
The al-Natour family statement described al-Natour as a “disobedient son,” alleging that he had joined the anti-Hamas Abu Shabab militia, an Israel-aligned group that has been actively combating Hamas in southern Gaza.
Framing al-Natour as a “perpetrator,” his family rejected “any form of alignment with suspicious projects ot hired parties.” They stated that al-Natour and the Abu Shabab militia “contradict the customs of [their] people and national principles,” describing anti-Hamas sentiments as notions that “align with the criminal occupation’s schemes.”
The statement then affirms that the al-Natour family “will always stand in the ranks of the homeland, the liberation battle, and the voice of [their] free, resistant people.”
Al-Natour's controversial op-ed
In his opinion piece, al-Natour characterized 'his' Gaza, between Israel and the yellow line, as one of hope and change. He wrote about his hopes for increased access to food, medicine, and electricity. A Gaza featuring a return to education and normality, with local leaders ready to remake Gazan society with the help of outside partnerships.
Al-Natour characterized the other Gaza as one at war, "not between Israel and Hamas, but between Hamas and Gaza itself." Hamas's brutality is described, both their actions in the past weeks and those in years before.
Moumen al-Natour, who was himself a political prisoner of Hamas, wrote, "I have lost many friends to Hamas's barbarity and have come close to losing my own life on more than one occasion."
The opinion piece ended with Moumen al-Natour calling for Hamas to be forced to abide by the terms of the deal and to cede power over Gaza.