Hamas Sees Peace as Weakness
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In the 1990s and during the second intifada, Hamas’s attacks put the Palestinian Authority in a difficult position. The Oslo Accords gave it a monopoly on the use of violence, especially to prevent terrorist attacks. Hamas’s attacks undermined the Palestinian Authority and prolonged the conflict, preventing the establishment of a secular Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state. The (2002 Passover) massacre overshadowed the fragile peace initiative and provided extremist Israeli political parties an opportunity to sideline the peace process and expand Israel’s West Bank settlements.
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Hamas had accomplished its goal of sabotaging nonviolent political solutions to the conflict. Additionally, the group’s propaganda, which I experienced firsthand in Gaza, glorified its terrorism and demonized the word “peace,” claiming it was equivalent to betrayal, weakness, surrender and the embrace of Jews. It also focused on Islamizing Palestinian society, which had historically been secular.
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The slaughter on Oct. 7 was meant to destabilize the region and fulfill the destructive aspirations of Hamas and its backers. The group counted on an overwhelmingly violent Israeli reaction to reinvigorate the spirit of resistance born out of Palestinian suffering. Hamas sought to hide its failures and inability to produce any progress in Gaza behind this brutal attack. Hamas counted on international sympathy for the unbearable civilian casualties—including dozens of my own family members—resulting from the Israeli offensive. Hamas bet that these deaths would shield it from criticism.
Many Palestinians and their allies, particularly outside Gaza, aren’t willing to condemn Hamas and acknowledge its undeniable role in the suffering of Gazans. Hamas has been a disaster to Palestinian aspirations for freedom and self-determination. It must be ruthlessly criticized and rejected, especially because it is serving the goals and interests of anti-peace Israeli factions.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hamas-sees-peace-as-weakness-israel-war-in-gaza-civilian-deaths-9027c01d?st=ydlb9e8absb9jl8&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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Mr. Alkhatib is a nonprofit administrator and a writer on Middle East issues based in the San Francisco Bay Area.