Ayesha Mahmood Malik, UK
The surprising roots of Hamas
The story of Hamas’s creation has unexpected roots: the seeds of what was to later become Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah or Hamas were sown in the environs of a refugee camp in Gaza – when Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, who suffered from quadriplegia and was nearly blind, founded a small movement on the peripheries of Palestinian politics in December 1973: Mujama-al-Islamiya – a Muslim charity, dedicating its minimal resources on building mosques and schools, while calling for a form of political Islam.
The dominant political force in the region at the time was the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (the PLO), under the leadership of Yasser Arafat. With many of its members violently anti-Israel, it was no surprise that Israel wanted to take the PLO to task and weaken its hold. And when they noticed Yassin’s nascent movement dwindling on the political fringes, it afforded an ideal opportunity to sow discord. Henceforth, Israel purposefully pursued a calculated divide-and-rule policy: attack and weaken the PLO and prop up its political adversary.
An unexpected ally
With Israel’s consistent support and injection of funds, over time this inconspicuous political movement grew into Hamas as we know it today. While Hamas’s rise to its current position as a formidable anti-Israel militant force was an unexpected outcome of Israel backing the movement early on, it has given Israel a convenient excuse to pursue a military assault on Gaza, holding the actions of Hamas as a pretext on the international stage to demonstrate the unviability of a two-state solution.
Overtly then, Hamas is Israel’s arch-nemesis, but its thriving existence provides vindication to Netanyahu’s strategic policy to covertly continue to bolster Hamas. In a Likud Party meeting in 2019 the Israeli PM revelled: “Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas. This is part of our strategy — to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”
Using Hamas as a proxy to peace
The reality is thus a sinister paradox: the more of a monster Hamas becomes, the more ‘just cause’ is handed in Israel’s hands to obliterate Gaza. The heinous events of October 7th have become a tragic watershed moment in the decades-long conflict, with Israel’s disproportionate and destructive military campaign against Gaza perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence, spurring greater anti-Israeli sentiment within Hamas’s ranks.
Thus, keeping Hamas alive ensures that Netanyahu’s aspirations of thwarting a two-state solution can be fulfilled. So, even while members of Netanyahu’s government have repeatedly called for “force, force and more force” against Hamas, Israel continues to permit the funnelling of millions to Gaza via Qatar, knowing they will inevitably flow into the hands of Hamas leadership.
A tragic irony
As the second anniversary of the tragic events of October 7 passes, Israelis who have lost loved ones are still seeking answers, some with a despondency and disillusionment with the current government. Sigal Mansuri, who lost both her daughters on the day has a message for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “We want to know the truth… We want to know what led us to October 7.”
The tragic irony of her words is profound. Israel’s clandestine support for Hamas is, however, an open secret: Mansuri and her husband helped form the ‘October council’ in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack, which calls for the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate Israel’s failures that helped lead to the events of that day. Netanyahu has unsurprisingly dismissed this offhandedly, touting that the process will reek of bias.
On a day that will bring much reflection to both sides of Israel and Palestine, there is also momentum building for the terms of a peace deal to be finalised with Hamas in Egypt. Last week, when the prospects of the deal were announced in the White House, Netanyahu remarked that the plan would help achieve his country’s “war aims” and “dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities.” So long as the global peace process is rigged with such blatant duality, it will continue to be farcical and perpetuate a lie not just on the world stage but also against the very people it claims to protect.