The Egypt-brokered cease-fire may achieve some calm for Israelis and Palestinians in the foreseeable future, particularly in the aftermath of the severe blow Hamas and Islamic Jihad suffered as a result of Israel’s massive military operation.
Indeed, Hamas and its allies will now be busy rebuilding the damage in the Gaza Strip. But they will also continue to raise new generations of Palestinians on glorification of terrorism and jihad, with the hope of achieving the destruction of Israel, which they view as an alien body planted by colonialist powers in the Middle East.
To understand the true intentions of Hamas and its allies, it is sufficient to follow the statements made by their leaders after the cease-fire announcement earlier this week. Evidently, these statements show that Hamas and Islamic Jihad see their “victory” in the Gaza Strip as a first step toward “liberating all Palestine.” They also show that these groups intend to use the new cease-fire to continue preparations and amass more weapons for what they call “the mother of all battles – liberating Palestine.”
Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah was one of the first figures to spell out his organization’s real intentions. Hours after the cease-fire announcement, the Lebanon-based Shalah declared: “The war is not over. It will continue in other means and methods.”
He went on to warn Palestinians against resuming negotiations with Israel, saying the Oslo Accords were now “buried under the rubble of the Gaza Strip” and Palestinians should as of now only endorse the “path of resistance.”
The following day, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh crawled out of the bunker he had retreated to during the war to declare that “Gaza is now preparing for the battle of comprehensive liberation.”
He told Hamas supporters during a “victory” rally in Gaza City that “Gaza has paved the way for reaching Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
To his credit, Haniyeh has never concealed Hamas’s desire to destroy Israel. Only days before the war, he said in a speech before schoolchildren attending a Hamas summer camp that his movement’s strategy “is to liberate the land of Palestine.” He added: “Whether we are in the (Palestinian) government or outside, we will continue to educate and call for the liberation of all Palestine and the establishment of a Palestinian state on all the land of Palestine.”
For those who do not know, Haniyeh is in fact just repeating Hamas’s charter, which does not accept Israel’s right to exist on any part of what is perceived as Muslim-owned land.
Another Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar, went even farther by calling for the establishment of a “Palestine Liberation Army” in wake of the “victory” scored by his movement and other Palestinian groups during the war.
Further evidence that this war was not about border crossings or improving living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was also provided by a spokesman for Hamas and several Palestinian groups that participated in the fighting against Israel.
At a press conference one day after the cease-fire announcement, Abu Obaida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, Izaddin al-Qassam, declared: “Gaza won because it has revived the hopes of 1.5 billion Arabs and Muslims that the road to Jerusalem is now open and all we need is to be united and have a will.”
So for Hamas and its allies, the war in the Gaza Strip is not just about the closure of border crossings or freedom of movement. Instead, they see the war in the Gaza Strip as part of their strategy to destroy Israel. What they are actually saying is, “Give us open borders and an airport and seaport so we can use them to prepare for the next war against Israel.”