Hamas is the single biggest barrier to peace in Gaza
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Version 0 of 1. Reading the British papers in recent days, one could easily become confused regarding the outcome of this latest conflict between Israel and Hamas; headlines pronounced victory for both sides, and only a few commentators wrote what many are surely thinking: no winners here, only losers. One realisation that has emerged from the current round of violence, and should be clear to any right-thinking person interested in a two-state future, is that Hamas today is the single greatest obstacle to the prosperity of Gaza, and in the longer run, to a peace agreement. The facts are there for everyone to see: Hamas is an internationally recognised terror group, which has earned that dubious title honestly, by virtue of dozens of suicide bombers, exploding buses and thousands of rockets. Its leaders sit in Qatar, its weapons smuggled from Iran, it trains alongside Hezbollah, and its ideology, clearly spelled out, is both radical Islamist and antisemitic. Its actions, as seen recently with the 18 executions of alleged collaborators with Israel in Gaza, resemble those of Isis and al-Qaida. Throughout its history, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have worked hard to derail the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. At the height of the Oslo process, they blew up buses in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending suicide bombers to explode among Israeli civilians. It was then that the late prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, said: “We must fight terrorism as if there’s no peace process, and work to achieve peace as if there’s no terror.” Rabin’s words hold true today, when an armed terror group has once again rained thousands of rockets from a strip of land which Israel had left almost a decade earlier in a bid to strengthen the chance for peace. Plans for an airport, a seaport and numerous joint Israeli-Palestinian projects in Gaza were in full swing when Hamas took over in 2006 and violently removed the Palestinian Authority, declaring it would not recognise Israel and proceeding to wage war on its civilians. Hamas control of Gaza has been an ongoing tragedy: for Palestinians, who have been subjected to an extremist regime which violates the rights of women, gays and other minorities, while using their resources – largely supported by the international community – for amassing rockets and building terror tunnels. For Israelis, Hamas’s actions weaken the case for peaceful coexistence, providing a worst-case scenario that became a reality which would be catastrophic if repeated following a West Bank withdrawal. This week’s international uproar following an Israeli declaration as “state land” of 1.5 square miles in Gush Etzion – land that is under no private ownership and is destined to remain under Israeli sovereignty under any future agreement – is telling. Outrage, and action, should be directed at Hamas’s extremist brand of terrorism, which remains the foremost stumbling block to any agreement. The wide support expressed by the Israeli public for the Gaza operation reflects the untenable situation of a country under constant rocket threat, a reality not experienced in Europe since the second world war. This support mirrors the growing realisation, reflected throughout the region, that radical elements left to their own devices do not become moderate of their own accord; rather they are supported by their friends and allies, and become stronger and more audacious. Peace is achieved by strengthening moderates while actively pursuing the isolation of extremists, using diplomatic as well as military means. As Hamas leaders stand amongst the rubble of Shuja’iya, brandishing weapons and proclaiming victory and continued jihad, at least one thing is clear: until it is stopped, peace may well elude us, and so long as it remains in power, the real losers will be Israelis and Palestinians who long for a radically different, peaceful future. |