University of Texas anti-Israel encampment sees Hamas propaganda, weapons
University protesters claim to support Palestinian rights; however, weapons and Hamas propaganda were found at UT Austin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While university protesters claim only to support Palestinians' humanitarian rights, evidence obtained from encampments at the University of Texas and elsewhere shows pro-Hamas propaganda supporting the genocide of Jews, plus weapons and tools to vandalize buildings.
On April 29 at the UT campus in Austin, police moved in to break up an encampment. In what was left behind, officials discovered a series of handouts celebrating the death of innocent Jews and the elimination of Israel. The material, in paper stacks bound by rubber bands and metal clips, was hidden among art supplies for distribution at the event, officials said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Protesters at the University of Texas claiming support for Palestinian rights are found with weapons and tools for vandalization in Austin, Texas. (University of Texas)
One document celebrated "rocket attacks on Zionist settlements... with over 2,300 rockets launched last year."
Another rejected peace or a two-state solution, reading, "we are not satisfied with co-existence or ending apartheid, liberate the land, from the river to the sea."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another quoted the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a recognized terrorist group targeting Israeli civilians. "We will emerge upon you," it read, "from where you least expect it."
"The material repetitively calls for the absolute elimination of Israel and Israelis through violence, and that's about as extreme as it gets," said Paul Edgar, an expert in Middle Eastern cultures at the University of Texas. "It is very intentional about identifying and supporting other extremists and terrorist groups: Lions' Den, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the PLO," the Palestine Liberation Organization.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stones and tools found by protesters at the University of Texas in Austin. (University of Texas)
Some materials were sourced from the "Resistance News Network," a radical antisemitic, English-language Telegram channel promoting Hamas and carrying messages for the Islamic Jihad. Police have found RNN materials at campuses in Illinois, New York and California.
Stones found at the University of Texas in Austin. (University of Texas)
"It's propaganda. I don't think you can say anything besides that," said former Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, now a senior fellow at the Defense Priorities Foundation. "From the Hamas perspective, I'm sure that they want to normalize themselves. They want to make themselves look reasonable."
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UT officials also said they found weapons; chains and steel cables to barricade doors; and buckets of rocks and bricks to assault police. Of 79 arrested, 45 had no affiliation with the university, the officials added.
The chancellor of UC San Diego cited "significant dangers" in calling police to shut down a campus encampment Monday, saying police had found stakes, propane tanks, metal and plywood shields, aerosol spray cans and a sword.