Victory and Defeat

(Al-Ahram-Egypt) Abdel-Moneim Said - When one side suffers 2,100 dead, thousands of others wounded, a large portion of its civilian infrastructure and its tunnels destroyed, and a good amount of its military capacities depleted because of the skilled commanders who were killed, while the other side loses 72 dead, the results of the recent war in Gaza can hardly be chalked up as a Palestinian victory. Yet Hamas leaders have proclaimed victory. We celebrated victory because the enemy failed to achieve its objectives as we defined them. While Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh might believe themselves victorious, in the manner of other Arab leaders who preceded them, the fact that the Palestinian people are convinced by their logic is truly amazing. According to an opinion poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 79% of Palestinians say that Hamas was victorious in this last war. They are simultaneously telling us that if elections were held today Hamas would win.


2014-09-12 00:00:00

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