Israeli military: “We will not rule Gaza militarily or politically”
It is impossible to eliminate Hamas as a political force… I can’t stop the resurrection
As long as we ignore the Palestinian issue, conflict is only a matter of time.
Israel is pledging to invade the Gaza Strip and completely destroy Hamas.
However, the New York Times reported on the 24th (local time) that even if Israel succeeds in eliminating Hamas, it will be much more difficult to prevent the Gaza Strip from becoming a threat to Israel and escape from it.
Who will rule the Gaza Strip after Hamas is eliminated becomes a political challenge.
Israeli officials say this is none of their business. However, it is a problem that Israel cannot avoid.
Tom Beckett, a British reserve lieutenant general and Middle East expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said, “Even if we succeed in neutralizing Hamas, Hamas will remain as a political force and resistance from local residents will continue,” adding, “Israel will either rule directly from Gaza or withdraw. “We have no choice but to hand it over to the resistance forces again,” he pointed out.
“The goal of the war is to eradicate Hamas and remove its leader, and we will not rule the Gaza Strip militarily or politically,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said.
However, the blind spot of Israel’s operation is that someone must rule the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is an organization with an ideology that cannot be dismantled politically or religiously, and has a reputation among Palestinians as a “martyr” against Israel.
“Hamas is never neutralized even if it is defeated militarily,” said Lina Hatib, a Middle East expert at the University of London. He emphasized, “The assessment that Hamas’ legitimacy is based on military success is wrong.”
Lawrence Friedman, Distinguished Professor at King’s College London, pointed out, “No matter how excellent the Israeli military is, it will be difficult to achieve its political goals.”
A representative example is the decades-long attempt by the U.S. military to bring about democratization in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it failed. Even after winning the war, they withdrew after suffering continued resistance from militias and Islamic fighters who had taken root among the local residents. In this process, the United States had to bear enormous costs.
Friedman emphasized that “Israel cannot prevent the resurgence of Hamas.”
It was the same when Israel invaded Gaza in 2014. At the time, a report suggested that the best solution was for the United Nations to control the Gaza Strip border, dismantle Palestinian militias, and allow moderate forces to rule the Gaza Strip instead of gradually lifting the blockade between Israel and Egypt.
However, both then and now, this plan was unrealistic. This is because the ceasefire is easily broken, making it difficult to prevent the situation from worsening again. Robert Seri, a Dutch diplomat who was the UN Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2014, said, “As long as Israel ignores the Palestinian issue, conflicts are only a matter of time and are bound to arise from time to time.”
In 2005, Israel completely withdrew from the Gaza Strip and handed it over to the Palestinian Authority under the Fatah party. However, after Fatah lost the parliamentary elections the following year, Hamas took control of Gaza.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.