Hamas wanted Iran to join in Oct 7 attack, secret minutes reveal

The green light for the Oct 7 attack was also given because Hamas wanted to disrupt efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.Before that Hamas had “played dead” for two years to ensure the raid was a surprise.They “must keep the enemy convinced that Hamas in Gaza wants calm”, the leaders said, according to the minutes.The minutes show that Israel’s deepening occupation of the West Bank and efforts to exert greater control over the Temple Mount, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews, were also factors in the attack.After Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was returned to power as the head of a hard-Right government in December 2022, Hamas leaders predicted its provocation towards Palestinians “will help us with moving toward the big project” by boosting support for Hamas.Hamas sent a senior member to Lebanon in July 2023, where he met a senior Iranian commander.He asked for Tehran’s help in…