Gaza agreement: Hamas as a risk factor
Despite the ceremonial signing of a Gaza peace declaration on Monday, Hamas has announced that it will continue its fight against Israel. The terrorist organisation is said to have taken action against armed gangs on the streets of Gaza and has released a video showing several people described as "collaborators" being executed. Commentators voice concern.
Will nothing really change?
Gazeta Wyborcza suspects that Hamas is making a comeback:
“Hamas has suffered enormous losses during the two years of war. Most of its leaders and thousands of its fighters have been killed. Nevertheless it has always been able to recruit new members - there was never a shortage of people willing to fight against the Israeli army in Gaza. Hamas fighters are returning not only to control the streets of the enclave, but also to prevent other groups from taking over.”
Two-state solution not wanted
The Irish Independent fears that both Israel and Hamas lack the will to achieve a lasting peace:
“The group is still estimated to have 15,000 members in Gaza. That is a big problem for the implementation of the rest of Trump's peace plan. ... Arab states are not going to send peacekeeping troops if they will have to fight Hamas, and Israel and the US will not permit reconstruction funds to flow if Hamas will siphon them off as it has in the past. ... For his part, Netanyahu is also determined to block a two-state solution. ... While the war has raged, the right-wing Netanyahu government has been doing everything short of formal annexation to extend Israeli control over the West Bank.”
Militia still in charge
According to La Stampa, nothing has changed for the better in Gaza:
“They waited just twenty-four hours. ... Then the Taliban of Gaza, the Hamas militiamen, resumed their usual cruel activities. ... Amid the cheers of the crowd (gathered by force?), they enforce their strict, brutal 'jihad law' with loud cries: a group of alleged members of rival gangs, blindfolded and kneeling, are executed with bursts of machine-gun fire in the back. ... They emerge from the catacombs of the tunnels back into the light - and bring barbarism with them. Using the same methods, the same arsenal of terror. The message is clear: Hamas is still in charge here.”