Macron’s claim that “Hamas has never operated in the West Bank” is contradicted by decades of documented evidence.
Macron is either an idiot or malicious or maybe even a malicious idiot.
Hamas has operated in the West Bank for decades
Hamas has maintained political networks, activists, recruitment operations and armed cells in the West Bank for decades. The U.S. State Department’s 2023 terrorism report explicitly states that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the PFLP operated in the West Bank.
Human Rights Watch documented Hamas suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians beginning in the 1990s. In more recent years, Hamas’s armed wing has also claimed responsibility for attacks involving operatives from the West Bank.
In September 2024, the United Nations reported that a major Israeli military operation in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas was described by Israel as targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members and infrastructure.
There is, of course, an important distinction between Hamas’s rule over Gaza and its far more limited and clandestine presence in the West Bank. Hamas does not govern the West Bank, and its ability to operate there is constrained by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. But that is very different from saying Hamas has never operated there.
International reporting has repeatedly documented Hamas activity
Major international news organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have repeatedly reported on Hamas activity in the West Bank.
Reuters has covered Hamas claims of responsibility for attacks originating in the West Bank, as well as statements by Hamas acknowledging that members of its armed wing and local commanders were operating in areas including Jenin and Tulkarm.
The Associated Press has likewise stated explicitly that Hamas militants are present in the West Bank, where they largely operate underground.
These reports span multiple years and include Hamas’s own statements identifying West Bank fighters, commanders and operations. Taken together, the documented record leaves little ambiguity: Hamas’s presence in the West Bank is substantially different from its control of Gaza, but the claim that it has “never operated” there is inconsistent with decades of documented evidence.
From the Web:
Reuters: Hamas claimed responsibility for a deadly West Bank shooting, August 11, 2024. Reuters reported that Hamas’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a road near Mehola in the West Bank, killing one Israeli and wounding another. Al Qassam specifically said its West Bank based fighters carried out the attack.
Source: Reuters report
Reuters: Hamas confirmed three members of its armed wing were killed in Jenin, August 30, 2024. Reuters reported that Hamas confirmed all three men killed during an Israeli operation in Jenin were members of its Al Qassam Brigades. Israel identified one of them, Wassem Hazem, as the head of Hamas in Jenin and said he had been involved in shooting and bombing attacks.
Source: Reuters report
Reuters: Hamas’s armed wing mourned two of its fighters killed in Jenin, August 17, 2024. Reuters reported that the Al Qassam Brigades publicly mourned two fighters killed in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in Jenin. Israel said the men were senior Hamas militants involved in planning a fatal West Bank shooting. The same Reuters report also said Al Qassam announced that its West Bank based fighters had carried out another shooting near Mehola.
Source: Reuters report
Reuters: Hamas said fighters killed in West Bank strikes included a commander of its Tulkarm brigades, August 3 to 4, 2024. Reuters reported that Hamas identified one man killed near Tulkarm as a commander in its local brigades and said all nine militants killed in two Israeli strikes in the West Bank were fighters. Palestinian Islamic Jihad separately identified four of those killed as its own members.
Source: Reuters report
Associated Press: “Hamas militants are present in the West Bank” and largely operate underground, October 2023. AP reported that the Israeli military said it had arrested 130 Hamas operatives in West Bank raids. Crucially, AP itself stated that Hamas militants were present in the West Bank but largely operated underground because of Israel’s security presence.
Source: Associated Press report
Associated Press: Israeli forces reported detaining Hamas affiliates across the West Bank, July 25, 2026. AP reported that the Israeli military said more than 300 locations had been searched and that people it described as Hamas affiliates, arms traffickers and militants were detained. This example should remain explicitly attributed to the Israeli military rather than presented as independent AP confirmation of every individual’s affiliation.
Source: Associated Press report
Reuters: Hamas confirmed that a man killed near Jenin was one of its members, August 28, 2026. Reuters reported that Hamas confirmed Qais Bitawi, killed in an Israeli strike in the Jenin area of the northern West Bank, was one of its members. Israel said he had directed, funded and carried out attacks against Israelis. Palestinian Islamic Jihad also claimed Bitawi as a member.
Source: Reuters report
Al Monitor / AFP: Hamas’s armed wing claimed responsibility for a West Bank bus shooting near Ariel, November 29, 2024. AFP, published by Al Monitor, reported that the Al Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting near the Israeli settlement of Ariel, in which eight people were injured.
Source: Al Monitor / AFP report
BBC: Hamas publicly praised a deadly attack in the northern West Bank, February 4, 2025. The BBC reported that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the shooting at the Tayasir checkpoint. Neither group claimed responsibility, so this is evidence of Hamas’s public support for armed attacks in the West Bank, not proof that Hamas carried out that particular attack.
Source: BBC report
Reuters: Hamas praised a deadly West Bank shooting and called for further armed action, September 1, 2024. Reuters reported that Hamas praised an attack near Hebron that killed three Israeli police officers but did not claim responsibility. Reuters also reported that Hamas called on armed Palestinians to direct their weapons against Israelis. The same report noted that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad said their fighters were engaged with Israeli forces in Jenin.
Source: Reuters report
