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. According to media reports the terrorist organisation has taken action against armed gangs on the streets of Gaza and released a video showing several people described as "collaborators" being executed. Commentators examine the organisation's role.
The only authority in the current power vacuum
El Mundo expects a major reshuffle within Hamas:
“Hamas is far more than just a terrorist group. Ever since it took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the use of this term to describe Hamas seems to have been more in response to a moral impulse - the condemnation of its use of violence - rather than a serious attempt to describe its nature. Hamas has been the main authority in Gaza for 18 years, managing everything from the civil administration structures to the courts and law enforcement. ... A group that has exercised this level of control over an area and its society won't disappear overnight. And although the two years of war have decimated its resources, it is clear that the current power vacuum favours its ability to reorganise and even regroup.”
Intra-Palestinian divides the biggest obstacle
Protagon misses the presence of a true Palestinian leader:
“After the war with Israel, Hamas is facing mistrust and anger because many Palestinians hold it responsible. Fatah has lost its credibility in the West Bank and is accused of corruption, inefficiency and complying with Israel. Both movements are determined to retain their power, however fragile it may be. The intra-Palestinian divide remains the biggest obstacle to developing a common strategy for national liberation and revitalising the peace process. At the same time, finding a figure who could unite the Palestinians remains a pious hope.”
Acid test
Hamas has received US approval for conducting internal security operations in the Gaza Strip. A dangerous development, Club Z warns:
“Hamas's violent crackdown on other groups which it itself describes as 'gangs' could lead to an escalation. The armed Palestinians with whom it clashed on Sunday belong to clans that are putting up resistance and trying to establish themselves as a possible alternative. ... The US's giving Hamas a green light to temporarily take charge of internal security in Gaza will put the war-weary movement to the test. Whether it is up to the task remains to be seen.”
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.”