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Why Did Hamas Attack Israel And Can There Ever Be Peace?
Many people don’t understand why the current war between Hamas and Israel is taking place. This article should help clarify things. It explains why anything except the surrender of Hamas will not lead to peace, but will instead continue a cycle of violence and death.
The article is divided into three sections:
- What is Hamas and why did it attack Israel?
- What should be done now?
- How did we get here? This section is slightly longer and goes into a bit of history, but it provides important context.
1. What is Hamas and why did it attack Israel?
Hamas is a terrorist organization (recognized as such by the USA, the EU, and others), that has controlled Gaza since 2006. To maintain power since initially elected, Hamas has murdered members of opposing factions
1 and executed people they suspect of treason2 3.
Hamas supports Islamic rule. It believes that the existence of Israel is illegitimate. It wants to control all of the land that is currently part of Israel. Hamas doesn’t believe in negotiation or coexisting with Israel, and until it obliterates Israel through force, it will not stop. All this and more is explicitly laid out in the Hamas covenant4, a document stating its core beliefs (the first paragraph states that “Israel will exist… until Islam will obliterate it”).
Hamas follows the same practices as ISIS and is no less barbaric. As demonstrated 5 on October 7th, Hamas openly celebrates the violent murder, rape, and desecration of civilians, including women, babies, and the elderly.
We don’t know specifically why Hamas decided to attack Israel on October 7th. Perhaps it was because peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed just around the corner, and normalized relations between Israel and a prominent Arab country would provide Israel with increased legitimacy and stability. Whatever the catalyst, Hamas knew that launching an attack would trigger a reaction from Israel that would result in the death of Palestinians, which would stall or completely stop peace talks.
2. What should be done now?
Hamas must surrender and return all hostages. Gaza must be demilitarized and policed by a UN peacekeeping force, with all international aid focused on maximizing the economic prosperity and wellbeing of the people of Gaza.
Whatever government ends up replacing Hamas must be committed to achieving their goals using peaceful diplomacy instead of terror. A possible candidate would be Fatah, the organization leading the West Bank. In recent polling 6 Fatah has been shown to have a significant following in Gaza.
Hamas understands that it lacks the military capabilities to defeat Israel, and that this will not change in the foreseeable future. So its strategy hinges on launching sporadic attacks, taking hostages, gradually building strength, and resting during ceasefires. These ceasefires are naively brokered by the misguided international community, bowing to the pressure exerted primarily by certain biased countries 7 and influential individuals.
Why does this happen?
Every time there is an operation in Gaza, Israel bombs civilian infrastructure because Hamas deliberately conceals weapons and bases there, among civilians
8 9. This practice of using a non-combatant to hide a military target is known as employing a “human shield” and is a war crime under International Law. To attempt to minimize civilian casualties, the IDF often warns the occupants of a building that is going to be bombed10, even though this usually also enables terrorists to escape. Israel does not want to and has no reason to hurt or kill Gazan civilians, which exacerbates existing hatred and drives an international narrative in which Israel is ruthless and violent. This narrative sets the conditions for a ceasefire demand from the international community, which is summarily acceded to by Israel and invariably broken by Hamas some time in the future. And then the cycle continues.
Israel must be allowed to defeat Hamas and restore the hostages taken by them, while striving to minimize civilian casualties. It is crucial to eliminate any misguided public support for Hamas, most importantly by not supporting ceasefires that are sure to be misused. Hamas will not surrender unless it clearly understands that it has no backing from the West, and that it will not be given temporary ceasefires.
It has become fashionable to promote peace even where peace is fundamentally unobtainable. It is especially easy to do so when you have no existential stake in the matter. But this is not an academic debate or a thought experiment. The fact remains that any ceasefire with Hamas perpetuates the existence of cruelty and terror, both for Israel and for the people of Gaza. It is simply not possible to negotiate for peace with an enemy whose goal is your obliteration.
3. How did we get here?
Support for Hamas is generated in part by claims that this conflict is the result of Israel having a racist, violent, and oppressive government. Rather than responding to each of those claims individually, here is a very brief historical overview that will address them collectively:
1947 United Nations Partition Plan: The Original Two State Solution
- The Ottomans ruled what is now Israel/Palestine until WW1, at which point it was conquered by the British. Both before and after the British conquest, Jews purchased land from Arab landowners. On the basis of those acquisitions and other considerations, the British and UN divided the land into two in 1947: One country for the Arabs in Palestine (who called themselves Palestinians), and one for the Jews in Palestine (who called themselves Israelis).
- Under the UN’s plan, the two sides were to share the land we now know as Israel and Palestine. But the Palestinians wanted all the land, so they rejected the UN’s plan and declared war against the Israelis
- 11.
- Multiple Arab countries joined them, declaring that they would “drive the Jews into the sea”. What ensued was the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.
- The Jews successfully defended themselves and the State of Israel was established. The parts of the proposed Palestine-under-the-UN-plan that Israel did not conquer were held by the Egyptians and Jordanians. Neither country ceded the land to the Palestinians, and to this day, many Palestinians who remain in Jordan do not have local citizenship
- 12.
- The Arabs who remained in Israel (those who didn’t flee and weren’t expelled), were given citizenship and to this day enjoy the same legal status as any other Israeli. There are Arab Supreme Court judges (Salim Joubran, Khaled Kabub) who interpret Israel’s law; Arab members of Parliament (Mansour Abbas, Ahmad Tibi) who can freely speak their mind; Arab doctors, police officers, professors; and even Arab IDF soldiers and officers, though military service is not mandatory for Arabs. Arab-Israeli citizens are granted affirmative action review upon applying to Israeli jobs
- 13.
1967 - 2004: Territorial Divisions in the West Bank and Gaza
- In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel conquered more land, including the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza (from Egypt) and the West Bank (from Jordan). In return for peace, Israel ceded Sinai (an area twice as large as the rest of Israel) back to Egypt. Gaza and the West Bank remained with Israel. Egypt had no interest in administering Gaza.
- The moment the Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank were under Israeli rather than Arab authority, the general global consensus was that they should have their own country. Israel initially opposed this, primarily because it was clear that the Palestinians would not be peaceful neighbors.
- Eventually, Israel would make numerous peace offers (2000 14, 2001 15, 2008 16).
- At one point, Israel even agreed to give away over ~95% of the land
- 17 claimed by the Palestinians in return for peace. But no offer was enough to appease the Palestinians, and hundreds of terror attacks (also known as the “Intifadas”) were launched, targeting civilians as well as soldiers.
- Over the past few decades alone, there have been several thousands of terrorist attacks by Palestinians. To protect Israeli citizens from these attacks, Israel has erected walls and security checkpoints that control access between Israeli and Palestinian towns and cities. These barriers are meant to ensure that people are not transporting weapons, and prevent terrorists from crossing into Israeli towns. After the introduction of these barriers, the average number of terror attacks per year decreased by 90%
- 18 in the relevant territories. Many Palestinians from the West Bank cross these checkpoints daily to reach their farms, or to work in Israeli cities.
- The movement of people between Israeli and Palestinian territories mostly goes in one direction - from Palestinian towns to Israeli towns. Few Israelis today would think of going into a Palestinian town for fear of getting attacked or murdered. However, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians work in Israel and walk around without being harmed.
- Throughout the decades following 1967, many dozens of Israeli settlements were created in the West Bank and Gaza. The legitimacy of these settlements is a contentious topic. Many Israelis are opposed to them, while others are strongly in favor. Those in favor state that the West Bank is the core of the ancient Jewish homeland, contains its holiest sites, and that since there are 1.7 million Arabs living in Israel proper, Jews should be allowed to live in the West Bank.
2005 - Present: Gaza
- In 2005, in the hopes of achieving peace, Israel forced all Jews to permanently abandon their homes in Gaza. There were 16 Jewish settlements in Gaza at the time. From this point on, Gaza was fully administered by Palestinians as a semi autonomous territory, and Israel had no intention to enter it again.
- In 2006, the Gazans elected Hamas into power, which immediately commenced launching missiles and attacks into Israel. Ever since, Israel and Hamas have been engaging in a predictable cycle of fighting: Hamas attacks Israel, Israel retaliates, back and forth. Occasionally, the number of casualties in a particular conflict is very high, and the international community intervenes by insisting on a ceasefire. The ceasefire is always desired by Hamas, which is invariably on the losing side, only to be broken by them at some later date.
- Ever since Hamas assumed control of Gaza and maintained their goal of obliterating Israel, Israel has partially blockaded Gaza, meaning that Israel has controlled who and what can cross the border. This was done primarily to impede Hamas’ attempts to arm themselves, though after certain terror attacks the blockade was often intensified in retribution, to include non-combat related merchandise as well. The only long lasting exceptions to the blockade are humanitarian-related, including the delivery of food and medical supplies. Israel also provides Gaza with fuel, water and electricity, even during many of the attacks and operations led against Israel by Hamas. Gazans are allowed to enter Israel to visit relatives in cases of extreme illness and funerals.
- Egypt has also chosen to maintain a blockade of Gaza during most of the same period that Israel has blockaded it, primarily because of terrorist attacks launched by Hamas into Egyptian territory.
- Israel knows that poverty drives people to extremism and does not want Gaza to be poor. Before the attack on October 7th, Israel provided tens of thousands of Gazans with employment in Israel, with the hopes that this would alleviate poverty and decrease future violence. The people of Gaza are indeed poor. This is partially because they spend international aid on smuggling weapons and attacking Israel, instead of infrastructure and economic development. When attacked, Israel then bombs Gaza, further damaging its weak infrastructure and economy.
Qatar, Iran, Lebanon, and many other Muslim countries
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-history-review/article/abs/hierarchical-inclusion-the-untold-history-of-israels-affirmative-action-for-arab-citizens-194868/EDCBB022DEFE55FBFF75945B781836DB, see also the official webpage of the Israeli government (in Hebrew) documenting this policy: https://web.archive.org/web/20130201010211/http://www.moital.gov.il/NR/exeres/8C492E47-135C-4B82-84D7-C62254B8BFEF.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/23/israel3 Note that the “over 95%” figure is reached by combining 100% of Gaza, 92% of the West Bank, and additional territorial concessions from within Israel proper
https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-711442 Note that these figures come from an Israeli source, as there do not seem to be independent sources that comprehensively document the number of terror attacks made against Israelis
Disclaimer: The above is a sponsored post, the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.
Author: Yoni Stoller
Email: yoni.stoller@gmail.com
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