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Hamas Is Still Hamas

(Yale University Press) Matthew Levitt - Whereas some assessed that ruling Gaza would moderate, or at least co-opt, Hamas' inclination to violence, that did not prove to be the case. The Oct. 7, 2023, massacre demonstrated in the most visceral and brutal way that Hamas ultimately prioritized destroying Israel and creating an Islamist Palestinian state in its place over its governance project in Gaza, Palestinian national reconciliation, or the end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution. In July 2007, Hamas took over Gaza from Fatah by force of arms. It diverted funds intended for civilian public services to build tunnels and a robust weapons production program. Hamas played a long game, investing in efforts to instill a "culture of resistance" in Gaza society, with a focus on schools and youth. Hamas duped Israeli and Western officials into thinking it would not put its governance project at risk and therefore could be deterred. After it consolidated power, by December 2008 Hamas initiated the first in a series of rocket wars with Israel. By 2015, after three rounds of rocket wars, some still assessed that Hamas would prioritize survival over "resistance." Yet Oct. 7 was the war Hamas always wanted. Hamas remained committed to its core principle of prioritizing the destruction of Israel over the well-being of Palestinian civilians. That explains why Hamas executed the brutal Oct. 7 attack and why Israel responded with an assault aimed at ending the Hamas governance project in Gaza. The writer is director of the Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2024-01-26 00:00:00
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