As Palestinians protested over the potential eviction of several families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem and as Israeli forces raided the Al Aqsa mosque compound during the month of Ramadan, Hamas saw an opportunity to script the narrative in its favour. It immediately demanded that Israel keep its hands off Jerusalem and issued a “final warning” to Israeli forces to stop the “aggression” in Sheikh Jarrah. Less than a week later, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad launched an overwhelming barrage of rockets at civilian centres in Israel, sparking the worst round of fighting with Israel since 2014, which killed more than 230 Gazans and 12 people in Israel.
Despite losing many of its top leaders in Gaza and a large part of its military infrastructure to Israeli airstrikes, the fundamentalist group managed to tap into Palestinian feelings of frustration and hopelessness by portraying itself as the only Palestinian actor capable of launching and sustaining an armed resistance against Israel. This strategy largely paid off for the group.
Protestors in the West Bank chanted slogans praising Hamas and its leadership throughout the ten-day conflict with Israel. Immediately after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Palestinians gathered in large numbers in the Al Aqsa mosque compound and thanked Hamas for the “victory” against Israel. They also blamed the Mahmoud Abbas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) for being a mute spectator, and expelled the Palestinian Mufti of Jerusalem at Al Aqsa and barred him from holding prayers because of his closeness to the PA and his refusal to support Hamas.
The conflict with Israel has also allowed Hamas to present itself as an alternative to the PA, whose popularity has been declining for some time now. PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision last month to delay the first elections to be held in the Palestinian territories since 2006 was a widely unpopular move. While Abbas blamed Israel for not allowing the polls to include East Jerusalem, as Israel considers the city to be its sovereign capital, many have argued that Abbas was afraid of losing the elections to rival factions within the PA that have been gaining popularity. Abbas has also been facing criticism for enabling rampant corruption within the PA and refusing to give way to a fresh face within the PA.
While Hamas has managed to expand its base beyond Gaza and strengthen its image as the defender of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem at the expense of Mahmoud Abbas and the PA, it is important to ask the question: Does Hamas truly represent the Palestinian people?
Hamas has engaged with Israel in two major wars in 2008 and 2014, as well as several violent, short-lived conflicts, including this month’s fighting. During these conflicts, Hamas has used Gazans as “human shields,” fired rockets from densely populated civilian centres, and has been accused of stockpiling rockets in schools, hospitals, and mosques. In fact, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) discovered around 20 rockets hidden in a school in Gaza in 2014. Israel has cited Hamas’s activities, including the stockpiling and firing of rockets, to justify the crippling sea, air, and land blockade imposed on Gaza. This blockade has exacted a huge toll on the civilians of Gaza, who have been facing a crippling poverty crisis and rampant unemployment. However, it has been reported that Hamas has found several ways of enriching themselves at the expense of the Palestinians.
The group has been accused of diverting humanitarian funds intended for Gaza’s suffering populace and using them for building its military arsenal. In 2018, Forbes magazine listed Hamas as the third richest terrorist organisation in the world and said that the group has a diverse set of monetary sources, including a wide taxation network in Gaza, a monopoly over several businesses in the enclave, and humanitarian funds. It is also believed that Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh is a millionaire who reportedly owns a $4 million beachfront mansion in Gaza.
Apart from the corruption, Hamas also rules Gaza with an iron fist. Ever since it won the 2006 Palestinian elections in the enclave and ousted the rival Fatah party in a bloody war the following year, Hamas has been exercising tight control over the political and social rights of Gazans. In a comprehensive report in 2020, Amnesty International outlined the numerous ways in which Hamas maintains its tight control over the enclave, including; the repression of dissent; the torture of activists, legal discrimination against women; conducting civilian trials in military courts; criminalisation of homosexuality; and summary executions of prisoners. This shows that while Hamas claims to be a legitimate “resistance movement” for the liberation of Palestine, it has shown no qualms about repressing the population it claims to fight for.
Another area of concern has been the group’s position regarding Israel. Hamas has expressed several times that it does not accept Israel’s right to exist. Moreover, its charter calls for the elimination of Israel and views Jihad as a legitimate means to achieve this end. This has led to Israel rejecting Hamas as a negotiating partner, which has, in turn, further complicated the Israel-Palestine peace process, especially over the status of Gaza in a future peace deal. For more than a decade, this status quo between Israel and Hamas has defined the conflict and left Gazans facing a bleak and harsh future.
While a lot of the blame falls on Hamas miserably failing to fulfil the aspirations of Palestinians as a whole by acting as a major roadblock to peace negotiations, Israel and the PA also need to take responsibility to end the limbo and enter into a serious dialogue. However, this does not seem to be the case at all. Israeli politicians have been busy trying to fix the political stalemate within Israel and the Benjamin Netanyahu government has continued a series of policies that are detrimental to peace, including the evictions of Palestinians from their homes and announcements threatening to annex several parts of the West Bank.
Simultaneously, inaction by the PA has also led many Palestinians to put their weight behind an armed response to the conflict. It is no surprise then, that many young Palestinians are turning to Hamas as an alternative to the PA.
Yet, despite all the support that Hamas might get, it is no saviour of the Palestinians. There is no doubt that Hamas has been using the Palestinian cause to promote its interests and its actions are destabilising and straining the peace process. While the group gains in strength and popularity, Israel and the PA lose legitimacy in eyes of the Palestinian people. The sooner both sides realise this, the better.
Hamas Is No Saviour of the Palestinians
While Hamas has managed to expand its base beyond Gaza and strengthen its image as the defender of the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, its concerns hardly mirror that of the Palestinians.
May 26, 2021
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh (Left) and Hamas' Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar (Centre) SOURCE: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS