A couple of days ago Reuters News Agency put together an interesting background piece about the current Hamas-Israel War, It has some flaws, but does present some interesting points. Here is one.
“Adeeb Ziadeh, a Palestinian expert in international affairs at Qatar University who has studied Hamas, said the group must have had a longer-term plan to follow its assault on Israel. “Those who carried out the Oct. 7 attack with its level of proficiency, this level of expertise, precision and intensity, would have prepared for a long-term battle. It’s not possible for Hamas to engage in such an attack without being fully prepared and mobilized for the outcome,” Ziadeh told Reuters.”
Remember this whenever you hear another claim that the Gazan Palestinians are on the verge of some kind of “humanitarian crisis”.
Hamas came to power in a coup in 2007, replacing the Fatah controlled Palestinian Authority. As noted by Reuters –
“Hamas, which is designated a terrorist movement by Israel, the US and the EU, called for the destruction of Israel in its 1988 founding charter.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who is based in Beirut, said the Oct. 7 attack and the unfolding Gaza war would put the issue of Palestinian statehood back on the map.
“It is an opportunity for us to tell them that we can make our destiny with our own hands. We can arrange the equation of the region in a way that serves our interests,” he told Reuters.”
Part of the Hamas ideology is that they will not engage in any negotiations with Israel. They make their demands via a third party, and prefer to have outsiders, like the UN or some other international forum be the one that pressures Israel into complying with what Hamas wants.
They are also quite adept at controlling the media inside Gaza (totally) and outside Gaza (mostly indirectly).The large demonstrations in many parts of the world were certainly planned, and probably organized, even before the callous attack on October 7.
Another aspect of the Hamas position is that when faced with pressure from any international organization or country Hamas will simply ignore any requests or demands that are not part of their own program. For example, releasing hostages from their control is not a real option. Hamas did unilaterally let some go, but only as part of a propaganda effort to support their cause and emphasize that they still held many more. Yesterday they said that some 60 of their kidnap victims had been killed by Israeli air strikes. This claim allows them to get more media attention,, lay a basis for evading responsibility for the deaths of those people (without disclosing who they are) and re-emphasize that they are still holding more hostages.
Since taking over Gaza Hamas has engaged in a series of spasm mini wars with Israel that usually follow a scripted pattern. They begin with a terrorist raid or a rocket bombardment intended to provoke an Israeli response. The exchange of fire continues until Hamas can show the world how badly their population is suffering. Since they have control of the media in Gaza, no story of picture that does not support their narrative can get out, Whatever damage that has been inflicted will be repaired by internationally funded reconstruction efforts (and Hamas will skim off any construction materials it needs to build tunnels and rockets),
This script has been replayed in one form or another in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. No wonder the Israeli side now wants to eliminate them.
Wetherhorn 