Exploring Possibilities of Ending the Israel-Hamas War

In the aftermath of the attacks, the IDF mobilized immediately and began operations starting from the 8th until the 27th of October. In Israeli response, Hamas fighters inside Israeli territory were eliminated, while airstrikes and ground operations were undertaken to destroy and soften the military sites in Gaza. On October 27, the IDF launched 'ground extension' operations, isolating northern Gaza, including Gaza City, and capturing the Gaza Harbour [4].

Hamas – Origins and Motives:

Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya ("Islamic Resistance Movement") founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian theologian who became an activist in local branches of the Muslim Brotherhood after devoting his early life to Islamic studies in Cairo. Yassin began preaching and doing philanthropic work in the West Bank and Gaza, both of which were at the time under Israel’s control after the 1967 Six-Day War. Following the commencement of the first intifada (a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem), Yassin created Hamas as the Brotherhood's political branch in Gaza in December 1987. At the time, Hamas' goal was to confront Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another movement whose dedication to forcefully opposing Israel threatened to divert Palestinian support away from the Brotherhood [5]. Since its founding, Hamas has used militant interpretations of Islam to lead a Sunni extremist movement dedicated to the destruction of Israel. By spreading resistance in the religious context of a holy battle (Jihad) and martyrdom, Hamas differentiated itself from the established Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), an umbrella organization for disparate Palestinian organizations. "Jihad is its path, and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes," Hamas declared in its first declaration in the late 1980s. Since the late 1980s, Hamas has received material support from Iran owing to its antagonism with Israel [6].

History of Conflict in Gaza:

Later, in 2006 Hamas won the parliamentary elections and forcefully took control of Gaza from the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority in 2007. The Palestinian Authority, led by the opposing Fatah movement, governs semi-autonomous sections of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In response to the Hamas takeover, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza, restricting the passage of people and goods in and out of the region, which it claims is necessary to prevent the group from procuring weapons. As a result of the blockade, Gaza's economy has been devastated and Israel has been criticized for collective punishment. Hamas has received support from Arab and Muslim countries such as Qatar and Turkey over the years with recently developed closer ties with Iran and its allies [7]. The ultimate objective of Hamas is mentioned in Article 7 of the Hamas Charter describing its mission as the “Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invader” [8].

Gaza is a narrow strip of territory situated between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea, with a short border with Egypt on the south. It is one of the most densely populated regions in the world while being only 41km (25 miles) long and 10km wide. Egypt occupied Gaza for 19 years following the 1948-49 war. Israel occupied Gaza during the 1967 war and remained there until 2005, during which time it built Jewish settlements. In 2005, Israel evacuated its troops and settlers, but it retained control of its airspace, shared border, and beach. Here, the land is still considered to be occupied by Israel, according to the United Nations [9].

Hamas has long advocated the use of violence to liberate occupied Palestinian territory and has called for Israel's annihilation. Over the years, Hamas has carried out several attacks against Israel including suicide bombings, and launching multiple rockets. For its operations, Hamas has also built a complex tunnel system that is used to carry out weapons and attacks inside Israel [10].

Early Efforts towards Peace:

In discussions regarding fostering peace, the most viable path is understood to be the Two-State Solution which would allow both sovereign Palestine and Israel to exist simultaneously. The idea was that peace negotiations led by the USA could lead to a peace treaty that would in exchange for the end of conflict, establish a Palestinian State in Gaza and the West Bank. However, the idea has died down over the course of decades primarily due to failed negotiations and a lack of political will in Israel, Palestine, and the USA, as well as disagreement on the actual outlines of the accord. These disagreements occurred on the grounds of the borders of both states and the status of Jerusalem, the right to return of the Palestinian refugees who were forced out, and the establishment of security guarantees for both Israelis and Palestinians [11]. All of these factors still act as hurdles to any peace efforts even today.

The most prominent step towards peace occurred in the form of the Oslo Accords as the result of a series of discussions in the Norwegian capital in early 1993. As it was unlawful for Israelis to communicate with the PLO, which was regarded as a terrorist organization, these discussions were largely conducted in utmost secrecy. However, Norwegian officials persuaded Israel's deputy foreign minister, Yossi Beilin, to pursue secret meetings with their long-time adversaries. The Palestinian side was led by Ahmed Qurei, said to be close to the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat with his initial counterpart being Yair Hirschfeld, an Israeli professor, and later, Uri Savir, the foreign ministry's director-general [12]. Since, the participants were unable to reach an agreement on the most difficult issues, such as the status of Jerusalem, the focus shifted towards interim steps.

In the West Bank and Gaza, a new body dubbed the Palestinian Authority (PA) assumed limited control. Later, the Paris Convention in 1994 established economic links between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the Taba Accord in 1995 established security arrangements. Here, it should be noted that none of this was a final settlement, but rather a temporary arrangement between both parties in conflict [13]. Initially, the hope was that Israel would gradually cede more land and control to the newly formed Palestinian Authority, but the process was largely halted in 1998. Since then, the Palestinian Authority has operated in around 39% of the West Bank, however, raids by Israeli forces continue regularly. The remaining 61%, much of it designated as land reserves for future settlement construction, is under Israeli civil and military administration and is essentially off-limits to Palestinian use and development [14].

The process under the Oslo Accords which was supposed to be completed by May 1999 faced continuous delays, renegotiations, and outright failure to implement certain agreements, alongside recurring violence which led to its ultimate failure. The reason for the failure of the accords can be attributed to the fundamentally uneven power and political dynamics that existed between Israelis and Palestinians. Furthermore, the US-Israel special relationship made them the two most powerful actors in the process allowing them to shift as many of the political risks and expenses as possible onto the Palestinians [15]. These factors reveal the uniqueness of the Israel-Palestine conflict and how the Two-State Solution, despite appearing to be the most pragmatic way forward is difficult to achieve.

Towards Ending the War:

With prior efforts towards peace failing time and again due to prolonged violence and political instability, the situation gets even more dire with virtually no possible solutions visible. However, a careful look into the opinion of the Gazans regarding Hamas sheds some new light on the concurrent understanding of the conflict.

Days before Israel's war with Hamas broke out, Arab Barometer, a research network had conducted a study in Gaza and the West Bank. The findings reveal that most Gazans facing economic hardships are upset with the Hamas governance. Furthermore, contrary to the Hamas Doctrine which seeks to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of survey respondents supported a Two-State Solution in which an independent Palestine coexisted with Israel. Responses to a potential presidential election suggest a massive anti-incumbency and mounting frustration regarding the Hamas rule [16]. In this light, it is essential to think of solutions around a possible Israel-Palestine peace with Hamas circumvented out of the negotiations or discussions. In this regard, the rivalrous Fatah Party which altogether prefers a peaceful stride towards a Two-State Solution could be a possible peace partner. This could be worth exploring as compared to Hamas, Fatah recognizes Israel and has abandoned its guerilla tactics and adopted a diplomatic approach for engaging with Israel [17]. However, this route is also hurdled with political dynamics inside Israel and would therefore require serious and active pursuit from Israel [18].

Meanwhile, Gazans are also in disapproval of the fact that the Arab states are normalizing ties with Israel as they believe Arab solidarity was key to the creation of an independent Palestine and normal bilateral ties with Israel would negate any hope for the same. Amidst, the Gazans' desire for political change, alternatives should be those that do not agree with the idea of eliminating Israel [19]. Here, it should be noted that currently Gazan population and the Fatah Party share the view that the Two-State Solution is the most viable option.

The most crucial challenge that needs to be recognized is that the past failures of peace efforts have built up over the years and accumulated into a lasting lack of trust. This is amplified by the political identity of Hamas and its ideology. Hence, if possibilities of peace between the two parties are to be explored, the opinion of the Gazan population regarding Hamas must be considered and efforts should be directed accordingly towards removing or circumventing Hamas’ administration over Gaza.

Endnotes:

1.     Rajneesh Singh, Israel–Hamas War 2023: Beyond IDF’s Military Operations Lie Israel’s Intractable Challenges, Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, 01 December 2023 https://www.idsa.in/issuebrief/Israel-Hamas-War-2023-RSingh-011223#footnote1_bgxkhro

2.     Tamsin Westlake, An analysis of the 7th of October 2023 casualties in Israel, Action On Armed Violence, 20 December 2023 https://aoav.org.uk/2023/an-analysis-of-the-7th-of-october-2023-casualties-in-israel-as-a-result-of-the-hamas-attack/

3.     Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose, Israel vows to demolish Hamas as troops prepare to move on shattered Gaza, Reuters, 16 October 2023 https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-braces-israeli-ground-assault-fears-conflict-spreading-grow-2023-10-15/

4.     Rajneesh Singh, Israel–Hamas War 2023: Beyond IDF’s Military Operations Lie Israel’s Intractable Challenges, Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses, 01 December 2023 https://www.idsa.in/issuebrief/Israel-Hamas-War-2023-RSingh-011223#footnote1_bgxkhro

5.     Kali Robinson, What is Hamas?, Council on Foreign Relations, 31 October 2023 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas

6.     Doctrine of Hamas, Wilson Center, 20 October 2023 https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas

7.     Sarah El Deeb, What is Hamas? The group that rules the Gaza Strip has fought several rounds of war with Israel, The Associated Press, 16 October 2023 https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-palestinian-authority-israel-war-ed7018dbaae09b81513daf3bda38109a

8.     Tamsin Westlake, An analysis of the 7th of October 2023 casualties in Israel, Action On Armed Violence, 20 December 2023 https://aoav.org.uk/2023/an-analysis-of-the-7th-of-october-2023-casualties-in-israel-as-a-result-of-the-hamas-attack/

9.     Israel Gaza war: History of the conflict explained, BBC News, 15 November 2023 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-44124396

10. Sarah El Deeb, What is Hamas? The group that rules the Gaza Strip has fought several rounds of war with Israel, The Associated Press, 16 October 2023 https://apnews.com/article/hamas-gaza-palestinian-authority-israel-war-ed7018dbaae09b81513daf3bda38109a

11. Nicole Narea, The many, many times Israelis and Palestinians tried to make peace — and failed, Vox, 22 November 2023 https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/11/22/23971375/israel-palestine-peace-talks-deal-timeline

12. The Oslo accords were always doomed to fail, Live Mint, 22 November 2023 https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/the-oslo-accords-were-always-doomed-to-fail-11700657420907.html

13. The Oslo accords were always doomed to fail, Live Mint, 22 November 2023 https://www.livemint.com/opinion/online-views/the-oslo-accords-were-always-doomed-to-fail-11700657420907.html

14. Khaled Elgindy, 30 years on, Oslo’s legacy of failure, Middle East Institute, 13 September 2023 https://www.mei.edu/publications/30-years-oslos-legacy-failure

15. Khaled Elgindy, 30 years on, Oslo’s legacy of failure, Middle East Institute, 13 September 2023 https://www.mei.edu/publications/30-years-oslos-legacy-failure

16. Amaney A. Jamal and Michael Robbins, What Palestinians Really Think of Hamas, Foreign Affairs, 25 October 2023 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-palestinians-really-think-hamas

17. Alexandra Sharp and Rishi Iyengar, A Guide to Palestinian and Other Anti-Israel Factions, Foreign Policy, 10 October 2023 https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/10/what-is-hamas-israel-war-palestine-fatah-hezbollah/

18. Steve Inskeep and Daniel Estrin, Senior official admits Fatah hasn't accomplished much toward peace with Israel, NPR, 01 November 2023 https://www.npr.org/2023/11/01/1209857267/senior-official-admits-fatah-hasnt-accomplished-much-toward-peace-with-israel

19. Amaney A. Jamal and Michael Robbins, What Palestinians Really Think of Hamas, Foreign Affairs, 25 October 2023 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/what-palestinians-really-think-hamas

Pic Courtesy-Taylor Brandon at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)