(Daily Beast) Matthew Levitt - Without significant diplomatic follow-up, the cease-fire in Gaza that Egypt brokered with American help will likely last only as long as it takes Hamas to rearm. Egypt will almost certainly be unwilling to stem the torrent of weapons flowing across its territory into Gaza. Hamas underwent a significant change in April 2012, when hardliners dominated in secret elections for the Hamas Shura Council and Political Bureau in Gaza. Under this new, more militant political leadership, Hamas leaders gave greater weight to acts of "resistance" against Israel over their responsibility to effectively govern Gaza. The writer is a senior fellow and director of the Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2012-11-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive