Opinion

Israel Hayom

Hamas’s salvation through the gutter

The inter-Palestinian reconciliation is analogous to a death from a thousand cuts. The Gaza Strip and West Bank, two hostile entities towards one another, are not united in anything other than their dream to destroy Israel.

File photo: Head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh (right) and senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed at a news conference in Gaza City. Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
File photo: Head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh (right) and senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed at a news conference in Gaza City. Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.
(Israeli American Council)
Reuven Berko
Dr. Reuven Berko was the adviser on Arab affairs to the Jerusalem district police and a writer for Israel Hayom.

After Hamas and Palestinian Authority representatives met in Egypt for the umpteenth time, it seemed they were finally ready to issue conciliatory tidings. Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV station, which is affiliated to Hezbollah, reported that the last meeting in Cairo, mediated by Egyptian intelligence officials, produced a breakthrough and that long-awaited reconciliation was imminent.

The statement included a laconic message that Hamas had agreed to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s demand to let his Ramallah-based government operate in Gaza in accordance with understandings reached in 2017. This, on condition that the P.A. lift the economic sanctions it has imposed on Gaza.

Within the framework of these understandings, Hamas demanded the immediate establishment of a national unity government, comprising all Palestinian factions and organizations, within 45 days. This government would implement previously agreed-to steps and, within an allotted time frame, elections would be held, which Hamas is certain it will win.

A senior P.A. official described Hamas’s situation as untenable, which is why it accepted the conditions for reconciliation. However, mere hours after the Egyptian statement, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk tweeted an ultimatum: The temporary Palestinian government headed by P.A. Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah would not be the body to spearhead the implementation of the agreement “because it is a fundamental part of the problem, and worse, it created the problem.” As a reminder, during the previous attempt at reconciliation, Hamas tried assassinating Hamdallah in Gaza and solving the problem that way.

The celebration, therefore, was premature. The P.A. wants to postpone elections as much as possible but wants to immediately assume control of Gaza and the weapons there. The collision was head-on. Despite the efforts of Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, the meeting was destined for failure.

Hamas, however, deeply mired in Gaza’s ruins, understood it had failed to achieve its fundamental vision of liberation Palestine—the missiles and tunnels—in which it invested the majority of the funds it received from Gulf emirates. The collapsed vision of an Islamic empire, on which Hamas had largely relied to complete its puzzle, hit the group especially hard.

Unlike its terrorist sister groups, such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State, Hamas is responsible for the welfare of the people of Gaza and its failings are evident in every open sewer, disease and drop of contaminated water, lack of electricity, fuel and medicine, rampant unemployment and hunger.

In their desperation, Hamas leaders have pinned their hopes on the United Nations and on donations from Europe, Turkey, Qatar, Iran and who else. They can hear the impending implosion ticking away like a time bomb. The dead-end, from the direction of Arab countries that are “normalizing relations with Israel,” has relegated Hamas to begging. Even the cost of its survival (money and fuel from Qatar) was humiliatingly transferred via the Zionist enemy.

The inter-Palestinian reconciliation is analogous to a death from a thousand cuts. The Gaza Strip and West Bank, two hostile entities towards one another, are not united in anything other than their dream to destroy Israel. Yet despite their contrasting positions, it momentarily appeared that the timing for reconciliation would actually be more beneficial to Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza. He postured as the victor as if graciously making concessions to Egypt and the P.A. And what could salvage the honor of Palestine’s liberator more than the pistol (allegedly plundered from Israel Defense Forces’ commandos) he proudly brandished at the victory rally?

The reconciliation and unity government with the P.A. would have allowed a deflated Hamas to explain, for the time being, why it ducked a fight with Israel. Israel Prize recipient Shlomo Giora Shoham touched on this motif in his book Salvation through the Gutters. Sinwar is still stuck in the sewer, and Hamas’s path to salvation is increasingly looking like a dead-end.

Dr. Reuven Berko was the adviser on Arab affairs to the Jerusalem district police and a writer for Israel Hayom.

The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither JNS nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.
You have read 3 articles this month.
Register to receive full access to JNS.

Just before you scroll on...

Israel is at war. JNS is combating the stream of misinformation on Israel with real, honest and factual reporting. In order to deliver this in-depth, unbiased coverage of Israel and the Jewish world, we rely on readers like you. The support you provide allows our journalists to deliver the truth, free from bias and hidden agendas. Can we count on your support? Every contribution, big or small, helps JNS.org remain a trusted source of news you can rely on.

Become a part of our mission by donating today
Topics
Comments
Thank you. You are a loyal JNS Reader.
You have read more than 10 articles this month.
Please register for full access to continue reading and post comments.
Never miss a thing
Get the best stories faster with JNS breaking news updates