Total Eclipse

Again I find myself blogging life during wartime.
Tel-Aviv is fucked up like that; An hours drive away, a quarter of a million Israelis are under rocket fire, and here life goes on as usual.

Just a quick recap. In the summer of 2005, Israel left the Gaza strip. In the summer of 2007, Hamas, an Islamic militant organization opposed to peace with Israel, took over the Gaza strip in a deadly coup. Israel, supported by the international quartet, set up an economic blockade on Gaza until Hamas accepts the quartet demands, which include accepting Israel’s right to exist. Once Hamas finished executing Fatah operative and set up shop in Gaza, this immediately led to rocket fire. Earlier this year, Israel and Hamas signed a six month Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement, where if Hamas stopped shelling Israel, Israel would ease the blockade on the the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip. This never really went to pass, as Hamas never actually stopped shelling, but merely shelled less, and so Israel never really eased pressure either. When the six month agreement ended, Israel was in favor of extending it, while Hamas stated it would not extend it further, blaming Israel. It then increased shelling dramatically.

From the New York Times:

Opening the routes to commerce was Hamas’s main goal in its cease-fire with Israel, just as ending the rocket fire was Israel’s central aim. But while rocket fire did go down drastically in the fall to 15 to 20 a month from hundreds a month, Israel said it would not permit trade to begin again because the rocket fire had not completely stopped and because Hamas continued to smuggle weapons from Egypt through desert tunnels. Hamas said this was a violation of the agreement, a sign of Israel’s real intentions and cause for further rocket fire. On Wednesday [12/24/08], some 70 rockets hit Israel over 24 hours, in a distinct increase in intensity.

The way I see it, Hamas is trying to eat the cake and keep it. It wants to be the ‘proper’ ruling authority in Gaza, but also wants to remain an irresponsible resistance movement.

Being a resistance movement which objects to Israel’s right to exists lies in the core of Hamas ideology, while controlling Gaza is the most significant accomplishment Hamas has ever had, and is a strategically important asset to them.

The fact is, it can’t have both. It just doesn’t play. Ironically, it was easier for Hamas under Fatah rule to do as they please and get away with it. If Hamas want to be the ones in charge of Gaza, then they’re responsible for Gaza, which means they’re to be held accountable for what happens in and from Gaza.
This is what being sovereign really means. Holding the monopoly for use of force from within a territory, and being held accountable for exertion of force in and from that territory.

So Hamas are at a very difficult impasse. Israel seems reluctant to actually forcefully remove them from their control of Gaza, but will no longer stand for rockets being fired from Gaza to Israel. Maintaining control of Gaza but no longer acting as a resistance movement will quickly lose Hamas’ popularity (which already isn’t too great in Gaza), but refusing to cease fire on Israel will bring Gazans to the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and will eventually lose them popularity as well.
Their only hope is that Gaza reaches a humanitarian catastrophe sooner rather than later, when they can still blame Israel.

None of this bodes well for the people of Gaza.

Tagged as 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict, cast lead, gaza, hamas, israel, life during wartime, War + Categorized as Current Events