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Palestinians Must Reject Hamas' Suicidal Adventures
(Ha'aretz) Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib - I left Gaza one month before the Israeli withdrawal in 2005. Since Hamas' horrendous Oct. 7 attacks on Israelis, difficult, uncomfortable questions are surfacing about the future of the Palestinian national project. Hamas' terror, which the group presented as legitimate armed resistance, seriously harmed the Palestinian cause and has led to thousands of Palestinians killed in Israeli retaliation. Armed resistance by Hamas and others failed to liberate any territories. Gaza's destruction is forcing unprecedented questioning of Hamas and the viability of armed resistance by its displaced, hungry, sick, and exhausted residents. Hamas propaganda has consistently told Palestinians that its resistance prevents Israel from operating freely in Gaza. The 2023 war decimated this notion and claims that asymmetric guerilla power can seriously challenge Israel's overwhelming military superiority. No amount of rockets, tunnels, or violent attacks emanating from Gaza is going to address Palestinian grievances or result in the establishment of a Palestinian state. Gaza should have become a model for what a prosperous, developed Palestinian state would look like. It was Hamas' choices that took Gaza down a dark path of recurring cycles of war, destruction, temporary reconstruction, and stalemate. The international community and the Arab world are tired of having to foot the bill for Hamas' suicidal adventures. There must be a cultural shift within Palestinian society to reverse decades of incitement and anti-peace sentiments. There must be a once and for all disposal of the notion that Israel can be dismantled or erased. It is time for the Palestinians to embrace peace, reject violence, and genuinely believe in coexisting with their Israeli neighbors.