Hamas Documents Show 7 October Attack Was Also Meant to Derail Saudi-Israel Normalization

Documents seized in the Gaza Strip and reviewed by the Amit Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, and later disclosed on Sunday, indicate that Hamas leaders were also driven by a strategic goal beyond killing Israelis on Simchat Torah 5784. According to the reports, the leadership wanted an “exceptional action” to stop the momentum toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia under the Abraham Accords.

The material says that in February 2022, about 20 months before the 7 October attack, Hamas’s Gaza leadership met and decided to establish a dedicated office to manage the struggle against normalization. The minutes quoted in the report say the office would shape the vision, philosophy, policy, and work plan, and coordinate all parts of the movement. An accompanying recommendation called for escalating activity in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and elsewhere to disrupt Saudi normalization, while another document said field unrest was one of the main tools for slowing it, pointing to the Second Intifada as the example that derailed an earlier Arab Peace Initiative track.

By 2023, the documents suggest, Hamas leaders had concluded that their efforts were not succeeding. In a decisive meeting two weeks before 7 October, then Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar presented a paper titled “Dealing with the Normalization Process Between Saudi Arabia and Israel.” In the minutes, Sinwar called normalization “a total disease” and said Saudi Arabia was especially significant because of its Arab and Islamic standing. He also attacked Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying he was trying to build his regional image through Israel and that this posed a danger to the Palestinian issue and the region.

Sinwar told the meeting that Hamas would have a role in striking “the Zionist enemy” and sending a message to normalization partners that Israeli control was not an oasis of security and stability. He said Hamas might not stop the process, but it would disrupt it and strip it of legitimacy. On 2 October 2023, five days before the attack, Hamas leadership met again, and Sinwar reportedly concluded that normalization with Saudi Arabia would lead to regional deterioration. He said there was no choice but an “exceptional action” by Hamas and the “axis of resistance” to create a major shift in the region. Five days later, Hamas launched its unprecedented war against Israel, and Saudi-Israeli normalization has remained frozen ever since.