A freelance journalist has been slammed over a tweet seeming to back Hamas, amid an escalating war of words on social media over the horrific violence unfolding in Israel and Palestine.
Najma Sharif, who has written for Teen Vogue and InStyle, was described as ‘sick’ after referring to the Islamic militant group’s rape and abduction of civilians as ‘decolonization’ – while her post was also ‘liked’ by more than 100,000 people.
‘What did y’all think decolonization meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays? Losers. “Not like this” Then like what. Show us LOL,’ Sharif wrote to her 45,300 followers.
Supporters of Sharif’s comment seem to include Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah, who ‘liked’ her post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
More than 700 Israelis were slaughtered over two days when Hamas launched its attack at the weekend, and hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have now also been killed as Benjamin Netanyahu’s government hit back.
A writer has been slammed over a tweet seeming to back Hamas, amid an escalating war of words on social media over the horrific violence unfolding in Israel and Palestine. (Pictured: People mourn at the graveside of Eden Guez, who was killed by the Islamic militants)
![Najma Sharif, who has written for Teen Vogue and InStyle, was described as 'sick' after referring to the Palestinian militant group's rape and abduction of civilians as 'decolonization' - while her post was also 'liked' by more than 100,000 people](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76397469-12615477-image-a-11_1696969408555.jpg)
Najma Sharif, who has written for Teen Vogue and InStyle, was described as ‘sick’ after referring to the Palestinian militant group’s rape and abduction of civilians as ‘decolonization’ – while her post was also ‘liked’ by more than 100,000 people
Sharif’s comment came on Saturday when Hamas’ attacks began with abductions at an Israeli festival. The violence has since escalated into all-out war – with the death toll on both sides breaching quadruple figures.
The writer’s X post sparked conflict in the comments, with more than 3,000 people weighing in.
Several accused Sharif of supporting ‘war crimes’ by Hamas, and one person wrote: ‘May you never suffer the horrific fate that you LOL about here.
‘However should the worst ever happen I hope you remember this moment.’
‘There are multiple videos of women and children being kidnapped, murdered and dragged around the street in Gaza while people cheer and spit on their corpses,’ another incensed X user wrote.
‘They were most likely raped as well. How are you going to defend that.’
One commenter said Sharif had ‘single-handedly alienated thousands of people’ from her cause, while another pointed out that Palestinian people would also suffer widespread devastation amid retaliation from Israel.
‘Enjoy the absolute carnage that the Palestinian people will suffer this week from the comfort of your Minnesota IP address,’ one person wrote.
Sharif describes herself on her website as a ‘Somali-American writer based in the digital world’ who was ‘born in Virginia and raised in Minnesota’.
The former Teen Vogue journalist has written for several publications and appeared on the cover of Soho House Magazine. She declined to provide context to her tweets when DailyMail.com approached her for comment.
DailyMail.com has also approached the Washington Post and Karen Attiah, who ‘liked’ Sharif’s tweet, for comment. They did not immediately respond.
Attiah has worked for the newspaper for almost a decade and is currently a columnist covering issues related to race, gender and international politics.
![An elderly Israeli woman was taken hostage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76291605-12615477-An_elderly_Israeli_woman_was_taken_hostage-a-16_1696969550651.jpg)
![A young woman is seen kidnapped being driven off on a motorcycle](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76291599-12615477-A_young_woman_is_seen_kidnapped_being_driven_off_on_a_motorcycle-a-17_1696969550740.jpg)
After the attacks Saturday morning, Hamas took dozens of Israeli civilians hostage
![A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip on October 9 and cut off the water supply as it bombed targets](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76347003-12615477-A_fireball_erupts_during_Israeli_bombardment_of_Gaza_City_on_Oct-a-14_1696969446491.jpg)
A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip on October 9 and cut off the water supply as it bombed targets
![A paramedic holds a little girl crying after being pulled from the scene of the bombing Gaza on Monday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76329109-12615477-A_paramedic_holds_a_little_girl_crying_after_being_pulled_from_t-a-15_1696969546291.jpg)
A paramedic holds a little girl crying after being pulled from the scene of the bombing Gaza on Monday
The war of words on social media over the Israel-Palestine crisis has intensified into fiery protests in cities around the world, from New York to Sydney.
On Sunday, hundreds of protesters clashed in the Big Apple – the city with the largest Jewish population in the world – and one man in the pro-Palestine crowd brandished an image of a Swastika.
NYPD deployed dozens of armed officers to the scene in Times Square and they used metal barricades to separate the two groups.
Similar clashes were seen outside Israeli Consulates in both Manhattan and London the following day.
In the UK capital, Israel and Palestine protesters clashed in a Tube station as police desperately tried to keep the peace and made three arrests for assault, racially-motivated criminal damage, and possessing an offensive weapon.
Meanwhile in Australia, pro-Palestine supporters chanted ‘gas the Jews’ and burned the Star of David in front of Sydney’s Opera House on Monday night.
![Skirmishes broke out in New York City's Times Square on Sunday amid full-scale war in Israel and Palestine](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76308325-12615477-Skirmishes_broke_out_in_New_York_City_s_Times_Square_on_Sunday_a-a-18_1696969781500.jpg)
Skirmishes broke out in New York City’s Times Square on Sunday amid full-scale war in Israel and Palestine
![The protester pointed the swastika - the symbol used by Nazis during the Holocaust - at the Israeli counter protesters](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76310803-12615477-The_protester_pointed_the_swastika_the_symbol_used_by_Nazis_duri-a-19_1696969784426.jpg)
The protester pointed the swastika – the symbol used by Nazis during the Holocaust – at the Israeli counter protesters
The Hamas atrocities came after the UN carved the colonized nation formerly known as ‘British Palestine’ into two separate states known as Israel and Palestine – and decades of violent sparring between various factions ensued.
U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk has condemned Israeli retaliatory air strikes against the Hamas militant group for targeting residential buildings and schools across the Gaza Strip. He added that ‘sieges’ were illegal under international law.
Turk also condemned ‘horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups’ and said the militants’ abduction of hostages was also forbidden under international law.
The Israeli military said on Monday it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, in a sign it may be planning a ground assault in response to the devastating weekend attacks by Hamas gunmen.
Israel’s air attacks – the worst in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians – also hit ‘premises of the UN relief and works agency, UNRWA (U.N. Palestinian refugee agency),’ a U.N. rights office statement said, adding that civilians were among the dead and injured.
![Israeli civilians were purportedly taken off the street and driven back into Gaza](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/10/21/76279617-12615477-Israeli_civilians_were_purportedly_taken_off_the_street_and_driv-a-20_1696969875048.jpg)
Israeli civilians were purportedly taken off the street and driven back into Gaza
Netanyahu vowed to take ‘mighty revenge’ after the Hamas attack left its streets strewn with bodies.
Israeli media said 900 people were killed in the attacks and most were civilians, while nearly 700 Gazans were killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials, with entire districts flattened.
The United Nations said more than 180,000 Gazans had been made homeless, many huddling on streets or in schools.
At the morgue in Gaza’s Khan Younis hospital, bodies were laid on the ground on stretchers with names written on their bellies. Medics called for relatives to pick up bodies quickly because there was no more space for the dead.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva criticized Turk’s statement. ‘He cannot bring himself to condemn those who carried out the (Hamas) attacks as terrorists,’ it said.
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