On 24 November 2023, Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas entered a four- day truce[i] and began conducting daily prisoner swaps[ii]; bringing a pause to the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Since the breakout of the conflict, the position of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on the crisis remained ambiguous. While it was obvious that the regime’s sympathies remain with the Palestinian cause, the Taliban did not condemn or praise the parties involved - in sharp contrast to the daily anti-Israel comments from neighboring Iran. The Taliban regime refrained from calling Hamas a liberation group –‘Mujahideen’[iii]- like the Turkish authorities [iv], nor did they call Israel a usurper and infanticidal regime like Iran.[v]
The Taliban's Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has been notably quiet on the Israel- Hamas conflict in Gaza. The group issued a statement criticizing Israel’s besieging of Gaza while calling on the international community to address the crisis.[vi] The only senior Taliban official to comment on the issue was Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Acting Interior Minister, who stated “We do not interfere in others’ internal affairs…but we have faith-based sympathy with Muslims.”[vii] The Taliban had denied claims that they were trying to join Hamas fighters, after a fake post on the X social media platform (formerly Twitter) claimed the Afghan Taliban wants to travel to fight in the war.[viii] Some argue that that this public backing away from active support for the Islamist militant group-Hamas may possibly have angered some of their own cadres. [ix]
The statement from Kabul came only around end November, in the wake of the Israeli announcement of a four-day pause in operations in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas and Tel Aviv agreed to a Qatari-brokered initiative. In that statement, the Taliban slammed the Western nations for their duplicitous position on the conflict. The Taliban has argued that the international community has been raising the issue of human rights violations in Afghanistan but not doing the same for Palestine, and slammed the West for “hypocrisy”[x] after the strike on Gaza’s Al-Mamdani Hospital and for “overtly courting Israel” in the ongoing crisis.[xi] The Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MoFA) stated, "The duplicitous position of the Western Governments and purported human rights bodies vis-a-vis violation of human rights and transgression of all humanitarian limits by the Zionist regime in Gaza has caused irreparable damage to their credibility,” signaling criticism of the West for the inappropriate response to Israel’s actions on one hand and lack of active public support for Hamas, on the other.
Criticism of Taliban’s Restrained Response
In the initial days of the conflict, the stance of the forces opposing the Taliban seemed firmer in supporting the Palestinians. For example, the Supreme Council of National Resistance for the Salvation of Afghanistan supported Hamas’s attack on Israel by publishing a statement.[xii] Muhammad Mohaqiq, a Member of the Council, had a telephonic conversation with Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, but no such proactive response could be seen from the ruling Taliban dispensation. Former Governor of Balkh Province, Atta Muhammad Nur posted an audio clip on platform X, titled “Message of a sister from Palestine to the people of Afghanistan,” calling on the Taliban to speak out in defense of Gaza. The clip runs Dari texts over the voice of a female speaking in Arabic begging for Afghans to help the Palestinians.[xiii] Mariam Solaimankhil, a former female member of the Afghan Parliament, posted a statement on X calling the Taliban response “hollow.”[xiv]
Interestingly, Hamas had congratulated the Afghan Taliban and praised its leadership for ending “US occupation” and seizing power in Afghanistan on Aug 15, 2021.[xv]Around the same time, Hamas also released photos of a meeting between its leader, Ismail Haniyeh and a Taliban delegation led by Mullah Baradar at the Taliban Office in Doha, Qatar.[xvi] Taliban itself being a militant Islamist Movement, was expected by many to actively support Hamas in its fight against Israel. In this context it can be noted that, Taliban Supreme Leader calls himself “Amir al-Momineen” – The Commander of the Faithful- which in essence signifies that he perceives himself to be the leader of all the believers across geographies. Yet, active support of the Taliban towards Hamas has been largely absent so far. The question, therefore is - what is stopping the Taliban Supreme Leader from actively supporting Hamas and opposing Israel? The following segment discusses factors that may have influenced the Taliban regime’s response to the Gaza Conflict.
Factor guiding Taliban’s stance on Gaza Conflict
First, The Taliban is aware that US support is critical for gaining international legitimacy, securing international aid as well as removal of sanctions on the regime. If the Taliban, enters the arena in active support of Hamas, there could be a reconsideration in America’s approach towards the Taliban. According to U.N, Afghanistan is facing the world's largest humanitarian crisis as more than 28.3 million people, or over two-thirds of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. For the time being, the Taliban needs the support of the United States as also allies in addressing challenges faced by Afghanistan and would not be willing to jeopardize its equation with the US by openly supporting Hamas.
Second, even after more than two years in power, the Taliban regime is yet to be recognized by the international community and one of the reasons behind that is the regime’s unwillingness to establish an inclusive political order in Afghanistan. The Taliban believes that the determination of the nature of the government is an internal matter and does not want to be dictated by others on the issue. Sirajuddin Haqqani’s response to the Gaza conflict is also indicative of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Considering their sensitivity to external interference in their affairs, by not interfering in the Gaza war, the Taliban perhaps wants to persuade the world not to interfere in their internal affairs.
Conclusion
The current responses from Taliban regime largely align with the past attitudes of previous Afghan regimes towards Israel and Palestine. It appears that the Afghan Taliban looked at the current Gaza conflict from the perspective of the ruling authority in Afghanistan and not as an Islamic militant group. Taliban’s restrained response to the Israel-Hamas crisis was a byproduct of its own national interest. The quest for international legitimacy, aid and removal of sanctions may have encouraged the Taliban to follow such an approach towards the Israel- Hamas Conflict.
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*Dr. Anwesha Ghosh, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA)
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal
Endnotes
[i] “Israel–Hamas war: The hostage deal and ceasefire explained.” Reuters, Nov 27, 2023. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israelhamas-war-hostage-deal-ceasefire-gaza-2023-11-22/ ( Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[ii] “Hamas releases a third group of hostages as part of truce, and says it will seek to extend the deal.” AP News, Nov 27.2023. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-11-26-2023-556b251fadc25a234a499e957edd218d ( Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[iii] “Turkey's Erdogan says Hamas is not terrorist organisation, cancels trip to Israel.” Reuters, Oct 25, 2023. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-says-hamas-is-not-terrorist-organisation-2023-10-25/ ( Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[iv] “Turkey's Erdogan says Hamas is not terrorist organization, cancels trip to Israel”. Reuters, Oct 25, 2023. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-says-hamas-is-not-terrorist-organisation-2023-10-25/ Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[v] “Gaza War: Why Is the Taliban Group Silent?” Hast-e-Subh, Oct 28, 2023. Available at: https://8am.media/eng/gaza-war-why-is-the-taliban-group-silent/ (Accessed on 30. 11.2023)
[vi] “Taliban Leaders Conspicuously Silent on Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.” VoA, Oct 18, 2023. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-leaders-conspicuously-silent-on-israel-hamas-war-in-gaza/7316729.html (Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[vii] “Taliban Leaders Conspicuously Silent on Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.” VoA, Oct 18, 2023. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-leaders-conspicuously-silent-on-israel-hamas-war-in-gaza/7316729.html (Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[viii] “Taliban Deny Claims They Are Trying to Join Hamas on the Battlefield”, VoA, Oct 9, 2023. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-deny-claims-they-are-trying-to-join-hamas-on-the-battlefield/7303501.html (Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[ix] Ibid
[x] “Taliban Slams West For 'Duplicitous Position' on Israel-Hamas War.” Sputnik, Nov 23, 2023. Available at: https://sputniknews.in/20231123/taliban-slams-west-for-duplicitous-position-on-israel-hamas-war-5542116.html ( Accessed on 29. 11.2023)
[xi] “What do we know about the strike on Gaza;s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital?” The New Arab, October 18, 2023. Available at: https://www.newarab.com/news/what-do-we-know-about-strike-gazas-baptist-hospital ( Accessed on 30. 11.2023)
[xii] “Gaza War: Why Is the Taliban Group Silent?” Hast-e-Subh, Oct 28, 2023. Available at: https://8am.media/eng/gaza-war-why-is-the-taliban-group-silent/ (Accessed on 30. 11.2023)
[xiii] “Taliban Leaders Conspicuously Silent on Israel-Hamas War in Gaza.” VoA, Oct 18, 2023. Available at: https://www.voanews.com/a/taliban-leaders-conspicuously-silent-on-israel-hamas-war-in-gaza/7316729.html
[xiv] Mariam Solaimankhil, Platform X handle @Mariamistan, X, Oct 18, 2023. Available at: https://twitter.com/Mariamistan/status/1714389881114476688?s=20 (Accessed on 30. 11.2023)
[xv] “Hamas congratulates Taliban for ‘defeating’ US”. Jerusalem Post, Aug 16, 2021. Available at: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/hamas-congratulates-taliban-for-defeating-us-676851 (Accessed on 30. 11.2023)
[xvi] Ibid