ISRAEL, HAMAS AND THE MIDDLE EAST

• First an update on Hamas in Gaza and its impact on Israel.  As David Ignatius recently reported, “The conundrum in Palestine is how to deal with Hamas, the militant Islamist group that controls Gaza.  By firing rockets into Israel and provoking a punishing Israeli response, Hamas has nearly torpedoed the Annapolis peace process.  It is a ruthless and unyielding organization but has strong support in Gaza, and, as Israel has discovered, it has been impossible to destroy militarily.”  Both the US and Israel have refused to negotiate or even talk with Hamas.  However, behind the scenes, Egypt has been quietly talking with Hamas.  Through this process, is it possible to negotiate a cease-fire with Hamas?  This seems impossible to even imagine, but Hamas itself is dealing with an almost impossible situation—governing Gaza.  Nonetheless, it remains determined to destroy Israel.  So, a cease-fire with Israel would be simply a lull to regroup and re-analyze its situation.  Israel’s challenge is that, in dealing with Hamas militarily, it does not want to re-occupy Gaza.  Even the most hawkish elements of Israel’s government do not see that as feasible.  Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and since the election of Hamas in 2006, rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have increased.  Mortimer Zuckerman reports that “First Fatah and now Hamas have rained 4,000 rockets on Israel, killed 24, and wounded 620—the equivalent of killing 1,200 Americans and wounding 31,000.  The citizens of Sderot and Ashkelon have suffered a collective trauma. . .”  Additionally, the challenge is that Hamas kills indiscriminately, for it makes no distinction between civilians and combatants.  At least Israel attempts to make a distinction when it strikes back.  What is even more amazing is that the world community continues to blame Israel for the conflict.  Twelve resolutions have passed the UN Human Rights Council on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, but not one has made even a passing reference to the terrorism against Israel.  Also, what is even more startling is that Israel continues to supply Gaza with electricity and with 2,500 tons of food and medicine every day!  Last year, 14,000 Gazan Palestinians were treated in Israeli medical facilities.  Does the world take note of this?  Does the world evidence any sympathy for Israel?  Hardly!  Instead, the world community continues to see Israel as the culprit.  Even the Bush administration is not helping.  It is responsible for the election in 2006, which resulted in Hamas winning the election.  The US has also forced Israel to relinquish control of the Philadelphia road, which now is a supply route for smuggling armaments and rockets into Gaza for Hamas.  This is a moral outrage and Israel is in a more precarious situation than ever!

• Second, the reputation of both Hezbollah (in Lebanon) and Hamas (in Gaza) among Arab peoples is frightening.  As Michael Slackman has reported, “the prevailing view [on the street] is that where Arab nations failed to stand up to Israel and the United States, an Islamic movement succeeded.”  Political Islam (i.e., Hezbollah and Hamas) is now widely seen as the antidote to the failures of Arab nationalism, Communism, socialism, and, most recently, the false promise of American-style democracy.  Hezbollah and Hamas have restored a sense of dignity and honor to a bruised and battered Arab identity.  Both militant organizations have apparently provided the Arab world with another unifying ideology—a kind of Arab-Islamic nationalism.  Many Arabic peoples in the Middle East now see them as incorruptible, disciplined, efficient and caring.  Pan-Arabism is viewed by most as a failure and corruption and the lack of true democracy leave no other viable option for the Arab world other than Hezbollah and Hamas.  What is of even a greater concern is that this kind of energy is spilling over into Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood is in clear resurgence.  This organization is far more extreme than the Mubarak government and is clearly sympathetic to Hezbollah and Hamas, for its slogan is “Islam is the solution.”  Perhaps we are witnessing the emergence of a new unifying ideology in the Arab Middle East, an ideology centered on militant Islam that is uncompromising when it comes to Israel and terrorist in its central strategies.  Over the next few years, what happens with Hezbollah and Hamas will probably determine the future of the Arabic Middle East.  And, when one adds the militancy and generosity of Iranian armaments pouring into the coffers of Hezbollah and Hamas, the volatility of the situation is real.  Israel cannot afford to tolerate such a massive buildup of arms; yet, its options are limited.  Should it strike Iran?  Should it strike Syria?  How far can it go militarily in fighting Hezbollah and Hamas?  Will the United States support Israel?  Will the next president support Israel?  A re-ordering of the volatile Middle East is apparently underway.

See Michael Slackman in the New York Times (20 August 2006); Mortimer Zuckerman in the US News and World Report (31 March 2008), p. 72; and David Ignatius in the Washington Post (30 March 2008). 

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