Blog Post: Hamas: Throwing Gazans Into The Fire

When we talk about the way civilian populations are used as pawns, there is no better example than the people barely surviving in the Gaza Strip. Events this week showed just how little regard anyone, including their own ostensible leaders, has for their well-being.

The previous week, an attack at Nahal Oz, site of the crossing through which Israel supplies fuel to the Strip, had the predictable effect: Israel suspended fuel supplies for several days. It is inconceivable that the perpetrators were unaware that a cutoff would be the result. Hamas did not actually carry out that attack, but they fully supported it, calling it heroic.

In an incident that got very little media coverage this week, snipers began firing at the Kerem Shalom crossing. The crossing was then, quite properly, closed and the supplies that had been going into Gaza that day were halted, cutting the day's supply roughly in half. The much more elaborate attack at Kerem Shalom on Saturday will surely mean that supplies into the Strip, already inadequate, will slow to a trickle.

In all of this, Hamas claims it is acting to force Israel to lift its siege on Gaza. After the Nahal Oz attack, they stated that the goal of the perpetrators was to kidnap an Israeli or two (which is, in any event, a war crime, no matter the cause, as taking hostages, as opposed to prisoners of war, is strictly and absolutely forbidden under international law) in order to force Israel to end the siege. This compounds murderous brutality with stupidity, as it is obvious that such a tactic won't work-just ask Gilad Schalit and his family.

None of this, of course, changes the fact that Israel itself is acting intolerably toward the Strip. The siege has only strengthened Hamas, has done nothing to free Schalit and has been ineffective in preventing rocket attacks from Gaza. What it has done effectively is to make the impoverished mass of Palestinians living in Gaza, the most overcrowded and, even previously, one of the poorest places on earth, much more miserable.

Other than the victims in Gaza and the southern Negev, there are no good guys here. The United States and Israel precipitated much of this by pushing for elections in late 2005 and early 2006, despite warnings from Palestinian leaders that Hamas stood to make, at minimum, very substantial gains. They exacerbated it by proceeding to try to undermine the results of a free and fair election, first with boycott then by arming Fatah. The PA went along with all of this and continues to refuse any compromise with Hamas that isn't preceded by the latter's abdication.

But those parts of the "left" which have embraced Hamas are failing to see what Hamas' actions have amounted to. They, too, despite the enormous suffering in Gaza, refuse any compromise which doesn't ensure their power, and while they have made some statements indicating their willingness to accept the reality of Israel's existence and settle for a state along the pre-1967 borders, they offer no assurances that they are ready to make peace with that "reality."

Worse, Hamas has acted in a manner that completely ignores the well-being of the people under their rule. It certainly seems that, recognizing that as the suffering in Gaza escalated so did their support, they are wantonly increasing that suffering.

At a talk I gave about two months ago, one person asked me if I thought part of the criticism of Hamas was because they were the only ones "telling the truth." Even leaving aside the questionable honesty of a group which has intentionally staged power outages across Gaza when there was ample fuel available and even went so far as to fake a broadcast from a darkened room which could have been illuminated by flipping on a light switch, it is dismaying to see how so-called progressives can ally themselves with a reactionary, fundamentalist and violent group like Hamas.

Former US President Jimmy Carter brought these questions into the spotlight this week when he met twice with Hamas leader, Khaled Meshal. Carter is, of course, quite correct when he says that it is futile to simply not talk to Hamas. But his method of dealing with that futility leaves a lot to be desired.

When Hamas was elected, I wrote the first public article I am aware of calling on the US and Israel to engage the newly-elected PA, which was a fully representative body and a party that is part of it can have whatever stances it wants as long as the government has its own policies. In that it is no different from Israel having elected Netanyahu in 1996 even though he opposed the Oslo Accords. Israel had committed to them, and so Netanyahu worked with them, however stubbornly.

Hamas is a reality, just as Israel is, and it will not be possible to make progress without engaging them in some fashion, just as it will not be possible for Hamas to make any real gains without engaging Israel. While Israel has every right to expect that any Palestinian government recognize its right to exist and abide by previously struck agreements, some way needs to be found for communication. Israelis agree, according to a recent poll which showed that 64% of Israelis wanted Israel to talk to Hamas.

But this does not mean that Israelis want their government to work with Hamas on permanent status issues, only that they believe the government should talk to Hamas about immediate concerns like Gilad Schalit and a cease-fire. While there have been no polls, there is little reason to believe that Israelis want to see Hamas given any sort of recognition as a legitimate government (bear in mind that Israel has negotiated with terrorist groups for years, including Hamas and Hezbollah as well as state actors like Iran). Indeed, as long as Hamas holds their current positions, Israel cannot engage them as an interlocutor on the larger issues. Nor should they. Hamas is not currently the legitimate leader of the Palestinian government, and they should not be accorded the recognition of being such.

Unfortunately, that's what Carter just did. I have no doubt his heart was in the right place. And, to be fair, it is possible his meeting with Meshal will open up a door. Possible, but unlikely. More likely is that Carter, acting as a private individual, will cause the US and Israel to dig their heels in even farther. That Hamas is already trumpeting the visit as granting them some legitimacy would seem to reinforce this likelihood and make any possibility of discussion even more remote.

But Carter's trip will pass. What will remain is the difficult reality of Hamas. Israel has every reason to see them as an obstacle that must be eliminated rather than as a party that must be dealt with, however distasteful that might be. But Hamas is a real force in Palestinian politics and a significant presence on the larger Arab stage. The simple fact is that Hamas is right when they say that Israel and the Palestinians cannot forge any real progress, much less a final peace, with Hamas sidelined.

Hamas is not likely to be defeated by force any more than the PLO was in its day. They will have to be dealt with somehow. But advocates for a more sensible approach to this situation than having the US and Israel pouting in a corner saying "you're bad, we won't talk to you" need also to be realistic about the group.

Hamas has demonstrated that they are not, as they are sometimes portrayed, the "voice of the people," refusing to collaborate and doing what they can to help their people. They have proven clearly that they are willing to sacrifice many Palestinians to advance their vision of the Palestinian future and to maintain their hold on power. These are not nice people, and if Israel needs to deal with them, then they must, but even at that, it should always be with the goal of marginalizing them and undermining their support.

The people of Gaza are suffering tremendously, and Israel's actions are not justifiable. Their siege is causing great harm to civilians in Gaza and gaining nothing for their security. But Israel has fulfilled its obligation to allow for humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza, which is why the shrill screams of genocide are so clearly contradicted by the facts. It is Hamas that is trying to disrupt that flow of supplies, and for that they should be condemned just as strongly as they should for their attacks on Israelis.