Unfortunately, failure to understand what Hamas is has led many to embrace it as an Islamic organization that espouses monotheism and a “national (Palestinian) liberation movement,” with disastrous results. Hamas claims to be both, but is neither.
The problem is that Islam claims to have a moral code with values and ethics, but it does not apply to non-Muslims (“infidels”). This became clear on October 7th. That is why Muslims ignore and deny the massacres and support Hamas attacks in the name of Islam. Infidels do not matter and are killed with impunity. Moreover, support for such atrocities is taught in mosques and Islamic schools and institutions around the world. Islamic leaders proclaim “Death to Israel, Death to America.”
Is it consistent with Islam’s claims to be monotheistic and connected to Abrahamic traditions?
Is that what Muslims believe Allah/God wants?
Hamas and other terrorist organizations use “Liberate Palestine” as a code word for destroying Israel and committing genocide. They present themselves as representatives of Islam to gain legitimacy and recognition. For this reason, Islamic authorities, Muslims, and many non-Muslims support Hamas.
But Hamas is an Islamic totalitarian organization that opposes any form of individuality, creativity or human rights. Life has no meaning outside its rules. It uses Islamic religious language, such as jihad, to justify atrocities that are contrary to true religious beliefs.
Countries such as Iran, Turkey and Qatar support Hamas, which also receives support from UNRWA, other UN agencies, Arab and Islamic groups, and anti-Israel NGOs such as Human Rights Watch.
The UNRWA connection is key to understanding how and why Hamas has become so powerful and influential. UNRWA controls and dominates the lives of Arab Palestinians living in 19 officially recognized “refugee camps” (actually neighborhoods within cities) in the “West Bank” (Judea, Samaria, East Jerusalem) and eight camps in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA provides food and medical services to the population and runs schools. UNRWA’s staff is almost entirely Arab Palestinian, most of whom have ties to Hamas.
UNRWA also serves millions of Arabs living in 40 “refugee camps” (actually towns and villages) in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Though considered a humanitarian organization, UNRWA’s goal is to create a permanent Arab Palestinian refugee population, to promote the “nakba” (catastrophe) (the failure of Arab armies to destroy Israel in the 1948-1949 war) and to maintain hope for future success. UNRWA instills this lesson in all who come under its umbrella, instilling hatred of Jews and Israel, and support for Hamas.
But the rise of Hamas could not have happened without the support of Israel, the US, the EU and the international community. Israel believed that empowering the PLO/PA and Hamas was a way to avoid accusations of “occupation” and “denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.” But it didn’t work. It was a step into the abyss.
The Oslo Accords renewed hopes for peace, but terrorism continued. Despite obtaining further concessions from Israel, Yasser Arafat launched the Second Intifada and made his intentions clear. The Second Intifada was traumatic for Israeli society, with thousands of Israelis killed and injured in a wave of terrorist attacks. Israel responded militarily, but also continued to support the PLO/PA and maintained its withdrawal policy of “land for peace.”
During the 2005 “disengagement,” Israel expelled the Jews from the Gaza Strip, giving Hamas the opportunity to eventually gain control of the Strip. When Hamas expelled the PLO from Gaza in 2007, Israel saw this as a way to foster a rival to the PLO and to develop the Gaza Strip into a local Singapore, a center of trade and commerce, peace and prosperity, and to implement a form of the “two-state solution” that was the basis of the Oslo Accords.
Instead, Hamas was building the tunnels with the support of Egypt and Qatar. Where were the Israeli security services? Why did the Israeli government and the international community ignore this clear threat? Why did they ignore Hezbollah’s actions? Why did they support, and continue to support, the establishment of a Palestinian state?
Promoting a Palestinian state has always been U.S. policy.
The promotion of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state has been the policy of successive US administrations, the State Department, and the international community, and is also the policy of the Biden administration. But it is unclear who would run that state. President Biden and State Department officials have said that Israel must accept such a state, even if it is an existential threat to Israel, because it cannot defeat Hamas or the PLO. But this policy ignores why Palestinians do not recognize Israel’s right to exist. They and their supporters argue that “Palestine must be free (from the Jews) from the river to the sea,” which would mean the destruction of Israel.
These policies have created an impossible situation for Israel. Israel cannot agree to empower terrorist organizations and does not want to fight the Biden administration. Israel needs American support but does not want to risk its own security. Giving in to Hamas or allowing it to survive and become part of a future Palestinian state is simply not a realistic option. As long as Hamas remains intact in any form, it remains a threat to Israel and the world. The people of Gaza, especially those who support Hamas, can rebuild their lives elsewhere. Terrorism carried out in the name of religion must be eradicated. It must not be tolerated or appeased.
The inability to understand Hamas and the war in Gaza is a case in point.
The author is an Israeli history doctor and journalist.
