Firing rockets at Israel gives Hamas the global publicity to put the Palestinian question back in the headlines, after floundering for the last four years under former President Donald Trump. Hamas thinks that baiting Israel into another brutal war against Gaza helps the cause of eventually winning concessions, whether it’s about opening up Egypt’s Rafah border crossing or Israel’s Erez crossing. Egypt and Israel closed the borders crossings due the persistence of Hamas smuggling in rocket and other arms to launch cross border attacks against Israel. Hamas continues to abide by its 1987 charter founded blind Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to destroy Isael Yassin was killed an Israeli rockent March 22, 2004. Yassin was responsible for untold numbers of Israeli deaths through suicide bombings, sniping, stabbings, car ramming, etc. Yassin served as the late Palestine Liberation founder Yasser Arafat’s hit man.
Stepping up as peace broker, 66-year-old Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is the most unlikely person to trust since Hamas is an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood, the outlawed Islamic group in Egypt. El-Sisi locked up Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohamed Moris who died in prison June 17, 2019. Morsi, who hopes to bring about a ceasefire with the help of the Quartet, led by the U.S., U.N., EU and Russia. Hamas has shown no let up in its rocket war against Israel, prompting 71-year-old Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who’s more than happy to keep bombing Hamas military targets, especially the elaborate tunnel system rebuilt since the last war in 2014. Whether Hamas agrees to a ceasefire or not, Netanyahu will continue to go after military targets as long as rockets slam into Israel’s communities.
President Joe Biden, 78, has bucked in party’s left-wing, that has more sympathy toward Palestinians, like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a Palestinian by family history, who routinely calls Israel “the Zionist state,” the same language used by Nazis in WW II, and modern-day anti-Semites like Iran’s Supreme Leaser Ayatollah Ali Khemenei. Since the last war in 2014, Hamas has spent billions on rockets and building a labyrinth of tunnels designed to invade Israel or protect Hamas’s rocket supplies from Israeli detection. Hamas latest war has had the unintended consequence of continuing Netanyahu’s reign of power. Israel’s Knesset [parliament], with its array of political parties opposing Netanyahu, now backs keeping him in power. No on is more battle-tested, more proven as a military leader than Netanayahu. Defense Minister Beni Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi both back keeping Netanyahu.
Knowing that they’ve lost the battle and the war, Hamas continues to fire rockets to garner global hatred against the Jewish State. Portrayed in the Arab world as bully and pariah state, Hamas knows that the more destruction and carnage, the worst PR damage inflicted on Israel. Political demonstrations have spread around the world chanting, “Free Palestine,” as if all the chants will result in a global collective effort by the Arab World to push Israel into the sea. Well they’ve already tried that several times and failed. But Hamas continue to hammer its PR advantage, despite the fact they fired the first shot, started the latest war. Israel’s enemies, inside and outside the U.S., don’t like Biden saying Israeli has a right to defend itself. Netanyahu’s more than willing to continue to hit Hamas targets as long as possible. Hamas keeps shooting off rockets thinking it wins them PR points.
Since seizing Gaza from the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority [PA] led by 85-year-old Mahmoud Abbas in 2007, Hamas has fought four wars wit Israel, all ending badly with decimation of the already dilapidated Gaza Strip. Each time Hamas runs out of case to run the seaside enclave, they beg the rich Arab Gulf States to host a donors’ conference to raise billions in aid. Flush with cash, Hamas betrays its promise to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip, instead spending lavishly on tunnels and armaments. Hamas scored a big PR victory letting Israel destroy the Gaza Civic building housing the Associated Press [AP], Al Jazeera and other media outlets. What the AP never reported on was that it shared offices with Hamas, a fact conveniently omitted when AP CEO Gary Pruitt complained about their offices getting bombed by the IDF May 12. AP has now joined the Palestinian side.
Hamas continues to shoot rockets at Israel not, as they tell Gaza residents, to conquer the Jewish state but to damage Israel in the court of public option. Now that AP’s on Palestine’s side, the negative publicity could be much worse, as demonstrations spread around the world. No one cares that Hamas started the war. They agree that Palestinian rights have been ignored for too long, giving Hamas the PR advantage. Hamas has given Israel plenty of time to weaken its military capability, while Netanyahu continues to bomb tunnels and other key military targets. As the Palestinian body count rises and destruction of Gaza continues, Israel will be under more pressure to for a ceasefire but only if Hamas stops shooting rockets. With Hamas winning the PR battle, they’ll keep the war going a bit longer proving to the world they took on Goliath, wouldn’t back down and demanded respect.
