Analysis of Hamas and Israel Conflict

Jasser Abu Mousa believes that Hamas is over,

but neither it nor Israel wants to announce

its death officially.

A shocking article in many of its details. Despite

these clear realities on the ground, the writer says,

the two sides of the war, Hamas and Israel,

are lying and insisting that Hamas is still

standing and strong, and each has an interest in promoting

this lie.

Hamas's motives are clear and understandable, of course. It simply does not want

to admit defeat and acknowledge that it has lost its authority in the Strip.

Second, some of its leaders still hope it will be possible

to rebuild the movement's capabilities, as happened in many previous wars

that were waged against it.

Third, these leaders certainly want to evade

accountability for a war that resulted in the martyrdom of more

than 73,000 Palestinians,

and several times that number wounded.

As for Israel's motives, they are

more subtle—meaning a bit more complex.

Of course, Israel's objectives are also clear, but only to those who closely follow Israeli affairs.

From the writer’s perspective, Israel desperately needs to convince

the world that Hamas is still powerful and poses a threat

to it, to justify continuing military operations in the Strip, because

of two reasons.

One, continuing the operations pleases the extreme Israeli right

and thus boosts Netanyahu’s chances of

remaining in power in the upcoming election.

Two—and this is more important for Israel, not just for Netanyahu.

Hamas’s survival gives Israel

an excuse to keep avoiding answers to the difficult questions

about the day after.

By “the day after,” I mean the future political status of the Strip and the rights

of the Palestinians.

To clarify further, in my own words, so I don’t misrepresent

the writer’s meaning when speaking for him,

what is it? If Israel acknowledges that Hamas is finished,

it follows that the justification for striking the Strip night

and day has ended.

Yet it wants to continue its aggression against the Strip for many reasons,

including making life impossible in the Strip.

Acknowledging the end of Hamas means that Palestinians will have one authority

in Ramallah, an authority prepared for negotiations

on reasonable terms, at least from the international community's point of view.

Israel does not want any negotiations or peace

with the Authority or anyone else. It already wants to displace

the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The shocking conclusion for some, and the gratifying one for

others,

is that Jasser Abu Moussa believes that Hamas

is finished, but neither it nor Israel

wants to officially announce its death.

A shocking article in many of its details,

but this is Jasser Abu Moussa's opinion, which we presented as is without

any intervention.