Since its creation in 1987, Hamas has had “resistance”—i.e., the destruction of Israel by violent means—as its goal. It’s proved no more successful at it than did the PLO, which pursued the same goal from its founding in 1964 until the signing of the Oslo Accords and again during the second intifada. Nor, writes Hillel Frisch, has Hamas been any more successful at governing the Gaza Strip:
Hamas, though presumed to be more radical than Fatah, [the PLO’s dominant faction], and to have greater staying power because of its religious ardor, has proved less resilient than its competitor. Following the third round of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the summer of 2014, missile launchings and tunnel attacks on Israel have come to an almost complete halt. . . . This dramatic slowdown seems to indicate that “resistance,” while remaining a rhetorical device, is no longer Hamas strategy in the field.
Hamas has also failed to provide for the welfare of Gaza inhabitants, [who] realized [this when] the Hamas government failed to solve Gaza’s pressing electrical blackouts, which created sewage and other ecological problems connected to the need for continuous electrical supply. . . .
Since 2014, the inhabitants of Gaza have cast their vote against Hamas. They do not do this at the ballot box. (Neither the PA nor Hamas seeks to continue the democratic process that led to the 2007 civil war [between the two], which endures to this day.) Instead, they vote with their feet. When Hamas tries to bring them out to rallies, they stay home. . . .
Little wonder, then, that Hamas has come up with a document that agrees, at least on tactical grounds, to a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, [without, of course, giving up on the goal of Israel’s eventual destruction]. The group is attempting to assuage Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab states that back him. Pressure from Gaza’s inhabitants is probably one reason for this move. Given Hamas’s failure as both a government and a terrorist movement, there will likely be more popular pressure to come, with further concessions down the line. Israel must be patient. Time is on its side.
Read more on BESA Center: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/hamas-another-failed-palestinian-organization/