Hamas’s involvement in the current
rocket and mortar attacks on Israel is a sign
of the Islamic movement’s growing sense of confidence, especially in the wake of
the
visit to the Gaza Strip of the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad al-
Thani.
Tuesday’s high-profile visit, the first of its kind by the leader
of an Arab country, is seen as a huge political and moral victory for Hamas. The
emir’s visit marks the beginning of the end of years of isolation for Hamas,
particularly in the international arena.
But now that Hamas has the
backing – and financial support – of a wealthy and influential country like
Qatar, it can afford to do almost anything it wants.
Hamas knows that in
addition to the backing of Qatar, it also enjoys the support of many Arabs and
Muslims thanks to the Arab Spring, which has resulted in the rise to power of
Islamist groups, most significantly in Egypt.
Today, Hamas leaders enjoy
the full backing of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi who,
unlike his predecessor Hosni Mubarak, considers the Islamist movement in the
Gaza Strip a legitimate and acceptable player in the region.
Hamas feels
confident that Morsi would not remain idle if Israel retaliated against the
rocket fire with a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip. The least that
Hamas expects from Morsi in response to such an operation would be to sever
Egypt’s diplomatic ties with Israel.
Some Hamas officials are convinced
that Israel’s response to the attacks would not be too strong because the
Israeli government wants to avoid a further deterioration in its relations with
Cairo.
The Islamist group also believes that Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu is not interested in another Operation Cast Lead three months before a
general election in Israel.
But Hamas may also be motivated by criticism
it has been facing from other Palestinian groups.
In recent years, Hamas
has refrained from direct involvement in attacks on Israel, most of which had
been carried out by Islamic Jihad and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip. In
some cases, Hamas even worked hard to prevent these groups from launching rocket
and mortar attacks, mainly to avoid giving Israel an “excuse” to invade the
Strip, since it fears another massive IDF operation could put an end to its rule
over the area.
Still, Hamas has to prove to its critics and political
rivals that, contrary to their claims, it has not abandoned the “armed
resistance against the Zionist enemy.”
Even Fatah has often criticized
Hamas for cracking down on those who carry out attacks against
Israel.
That’s why Hamas is prepared, whenever the circumstances permit,
to show Palestinians and the rest of the world that its presence in government
should not be interpreted as a change in its ideology.