'Symbiosis' between Israel and Hamas
- By Wang Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 27, 2014
Though Hamas-controlled Gaza has a radical ideology and an uncompromising posture, Hamas is far less violent than other armed groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Largely thanks to Hamas, the Gaza Strip has been immune from penetration by international terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda for the past ten years. In this sense, Israel is reassured to see Gaza controlled by Hamas.
On the part of Hamas, to keep the enemy of Israel is not only because it is incapable of bringing it down, but also the existence and oppression of Israel is crucial for Hamas to fight for its own legitimacy. The emergence and development of Hamas is closely related to Israel's invasion and control of Palestine. And much of the ideology and the rise of Hamas leaders stems from their fight against Israel.
Therefore, until Hamas is replaced by more moderate groups such as Fatah or a major reshuffle takes place within the organization, Hamas will continue its attack, at least verbally, on Israel. Even Fatah recognized the de facto existence of Israel after the post-Cold War Israeli–Palestinian peace process and rounds of fights within the party, thus it will be more difficult for the more radical Hamas to change its relationship with Israel.
In a nutshell, though Israel has begun a ground offensive in Gaza, the fact that Hamas controls Gaza is nonetheless acceptable to Israel. For Hamas, the invasion of Israel means they can win more support from the Palestinians. Therefore, the two sides will keep trading fire and waiting for international intervention. But it is civilians that are suffering most from the current conflict.
The writer is a Ph.D. student in International Politics at the University of Haifa in Israel.
This article was first published in Chinese and translated by Zhang Lulu.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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