At the end of last year’s Gaza war, Hamas and its supporters proudly (if irrationally) declared victory. Now, they are quietly admitting that they lost. Evelyn Gordon tries to ascertain what convinced them:
Throughout the fighting, Hamas promised its people that even though they were suffering, it would be worth it: the international community would rebuild their homes and grant massive development aid; Gaza’s borders with both Israel and Egypt would be opened wide; Gaza would get an airport and seaport. But in reality, none of this has happened.
International aid has largely failed to materialize, and, as one recent poll shows, Gaza residents blame this mainly on Hamas. Reconstruction work has barely begun. The Egyptian border remains tightly sealed. No airport or seaport is on the horizon. Israel’s naval blockade remains in place. Indeed, the only positive change has been a modest easing of restrictions at the land border with Israel. And that simply isn’t enough to justify the devastation the war wreaked on Gaza.
Just how unpopular this has made the prospect of another war is evident from another finding of the poll mentioned above: though a whopping 84 percent of Gazans support “armed struggle” against Israel in principle, an identical proportion—83 percent—want Hamas to maintain a cease-fire with Israel in both Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank, where 56 percent support “armed struggle” in principle, 74 percent want Hamas to maintain a cease-fire in both areas.
Read more on Evelyn Gordon: http://evelyncgordon.com/one-year-later-hamas-finally-admits-it-lost-the-gaza-war/