In understanding the success of IS at recruiting members, it is important not to discount religion—the most obvious reason for its popularity even if, for many Western commentators, this is the last explanation to come to mind. Ayman Ibrahim writes:

IS is quite appealing to some as it serves as the fulfillment of the long-awaited dream of the one unified Muslim umma (community). With the emergence of IS, for the first time in centuries, Muslims from many ethnicities and cultural background can claim to be “one” in Allah’s restored caliphate. They pine for the “golden days” of Islam. . . . This makes IS’s message and call appealing especially to those who have been reading the recent happenings with an eye on the past sacred days of the Muslim prophet. In a recent interview with an IS recruit, Khadija (not her real name) was asked why she joined IS. She said that the recruiter promised, “We are going to properly implement Islam.” In short, the dream of the one unified umma replaces and surpasses every other dream, even the personal and national ones.

If there is to be peace, Palestinians will have to unlearn the hatred of Israel they have imbibed during nearly two decades of Hamas rule. This will be a difficult task, but Cole Aronson argues, drawing on the experiences of World War II, that Israel has already gotten off to a strong start:

The population’s compliance can . . . be won by a new regime that satisfies its immediate material needs, even if that new regime is sponsored by a government until recently at war with the population’s former regime. Axis civilians were made needy through bombing. Peaceful compliance with the Allies became a good alternative to supporting violent resistance to the Allies.

Israel’s current campaign makes a moderate Gaza more likely, not less. Destroying Hamas not only deprives Islamists of the ability to rule—it proves the futility of armed resistance to Israel, a condition for peace. The destruction of buildings not only deprives Hamas of its hideouts. It also gives ordinary Palestinians strong reasons to shun groups planning to replicate Hamas’s behavior.