Why Hamas should thank Netanyahu
The Netanyahu government has done its fair share to strengthen Hamas as part of its efforts to weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and distance the possibility of peacefully resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
When Hamas celebrates the 30th anniversary of its founding in December, it really should invite the Israeli government to take a place of honor in the VIP gallery. No one has contributed more to the creation and growth of that organization than Israel's right-wing government, and it has been doing so from the time the first intifada erupted in December 1987, up until this very day. The motivation remains the same: to weaken Fatah and eat away at popular Palestinian support for reconciliation with Israel based on a two-state solution. Whenever Hamas finds itself in trouble, Israel is there to extricate it. Whenever it seems like the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah has succeeded in resuscitating the Oslo Accord, Israel sends it scurrying back to its place of permanence — to nowhere.
Though Hamas does want to reach a reconciliation agreement with Fatah, this is not the result of some ideological shift within the religious organization. Hamas continues to reject any arrangement that includes recognition of Israeli sovereignty on any territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. The warm reception organized in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 2 for the delegation from the Palestinian Authority (PA) is no evidence of Hamas having accepted Fatah's diplomatic approach to resolving the conflict with Israel either. Israel's longstanding economic blockade on Gaza and the diplomatic blockade of Hamas' financial provider Qatar by Egypt and Saudi Arabia have coalesced to force Hamas into opening the gates of Gaza to its archnemesis. Political and economic distress were also behind Hamas’ decision to accept Egypt’s invitation for continued talks with Fatah. A high-level delegation arrived in Cairo on Oct. 10, in an attempt to resolve the issues still pending ahead of reconciliation between the two movements.
