The recent Israel - Gaza conflict
Recent Palestinian Islamic Jihad-Israel skirmishes shows that Palestinians especially their militant groups are more weary and worried of any potential full scale battle with Israel. In other words, right now, they are more in touch with reality. They know full well that any war with Israel will result in the killing of thousands of people on their side and heavy infrastructure damage.
The question is, is the resistance still any more relevant?
Hamas and Islamic Jihad thrives on the support from Palestinians for their role that they have undertaken, namely carrying the mantle in defense of the Palestinian people through military means. However, the recent 2014 war has left a lasting impression on the Gazan people. The devastation of Gaza and the more than 2000 people killed in the 7 weeks of war in 2014 has made the Gazan Palestinians very careful and reluctant to face Israel. This, plus the previous battles of 2011 and 2009 has served as a strong reminder that Israel is still a serious foe not to be taken lightly.
Bahaa Abu al Ataa, senior commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The recent happenings in Gaza shows this very well. The killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group, Bahaa Abu al-Ata by Israel, that sparked the 2 day skirmish could have very well led to a full scale war if it were to happen either 5 or 10 years ago. PIJ launched 450 rockets towards Israel (killing no one) and Israel responded with airstrikes that killed 34 Palestinians. Hamas, the ruling militant group of Gaza, chose to stay on the sidelines. Hamas knows very well that it could not afford to face Israel again in a major war.
After two days of exchanges of fire, PIJ was forced to sign a ceasefire deal with Israel, with unclear ceasefire terms. From what we can see, the only thing that PIJ got from the ceasefire is an assurance from Israel that it will not repeat another targeted assassination of the group's leaders. But the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Ataa is left largely without serious repurcussions. They simply could not afford to go beyond than launching rockets towards southern Israel that left minor damages (for instance, targeting Tel Aviv) for fear of Israeli full-scale response.
The decision by Hamas to stay out of the skirmish and leaving their brethren PIJ to face Israel alone shows that Hamas now is more concerned about how a major war could wipe out large numbers of people that they claim had sworn to defend. Maybe it is time that Hamas thinks beyond military resistance by now, and start taking radical actions for the sake of the Palestinian people by considering laying down their weapons and recognizing Israel.
This is the only way forward, and the sooner Hamas realizes this the better it is for everyone especially Palestinians.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad thrives on the support from Palestinians for their role that they have undertaken, namely carrying the mantle in defense of the Palestinian people through military means. However, the recent 2014 war has left a lasting impression on the Gazan people. The devastation of Gaza and the more than 2000 people killed in the 7 weeks of war in 2014 has made the Gazan Palestinians very careful and reluctant to face Israel. This, plus the previous battles of 2011 and 2009 has served as a strong reminder that Israel is still a serious foe not to be taken lightly.
Bahaa Abu al Ataa, senior commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The recent happenings in Gaza shows this very well. The killing of a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group, Bahaa Abu al-Ata by Israel, that sparked the 2 day skirmish could have very well led to a full scale war if it were to happen either 5 or 10 years ago. PIJ launched 450 rockets towards Israel (killing no one) and Israel responded with airstrikes that killed 34 Palestinians. Hamas, the ruling militant group of Gaza, chose to stay on the sidelines. Hamas knows very well that it could not afford to face Israel again in a major war.
After two days of exchanges of fire, PIJ was forced to sign a ceasefire deal with Israel, with unclear ceasefire terms. From what we can see, the only thing that PIJ got from the ceasefire is an assurance from Israel that it will not repeat another targeted assassination of the group's leaders. But the killing of Bahaa Abu al-Ataa is left largely without serious repurcussions. They simply could not afford to go beyond than launching rockets towards southern Israel that left minor damages (for instance, targeting Tel Aviv) for fear of Israeli full-scale response.
The decision by Hamas to stay out of the skirmish and leaving their brethren PIJ to face Israel alone shows that Hamas now is more concerned about how a major war could wipe out large numbers of people that they claim had sworn to defend. Maybe it is time that Hamas thinks beyond military resistance by now, and start taking radical actions for the sake of the Palestinian people by considering laying down their weapons and recognizing Israel.
This is the only way forward, and the sooner Hamas realizes this the better it is for everyone especially Palestinians.
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