The Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has repeated its demand that Israel withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip in order to reach a ceasefire-hostage agreement with Israel. Hamas, in other words, is demanding that Israel lose the war so that the terrorist group can regroup, rearm and prepare for more attacks on Israel like the one it launched on October 7, 2023. In that assault, 1,200 Israelis were murdered, with many raped, tortured and burned alive. Another 240 Israelis were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where 101 are still being held as hostages, many of them already murdered (see here and here).
In a statement issued on September 12, Hamas said that its representatives informed Egyptian and Qatari mediators of their "positivity and flexibility to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, according to which the Israeli occupation army would withdraw from the entire territory of the Gaza Strip in a way that achieves the interests of the Palestinians and paves the way for a prisoner exchange deal."
A total Israeli withdrawal means that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would abandon the Philadelphi Corridor and Rafah border-crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It also means that the IDF would abandon the Netzarim Corridor, which splits the northern part of the Gaza Strip from its south.
Abandoning the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt would enable Hamas to carry on with its decades-long practice of smuggling weapons into the enclave. It would also allow the new head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, to escape – along with many of the hostages with whom he is thought to be surrounding himself for protection -- through the tunnels into Egypt's Sinai Desert.
Similarly, a withdrawal from the Netzarim Corridor would facilitate the return of Hamas terrorists to the northern part of the Gaza Strip, thus bringing them closer to Israeli communities along the border.
According to Brig. Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel, head of the research program on the Palestinian arena at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS):
"Hamas is focused on survival and trying hard to create a myth whereby it cannot be defeated, in the expectation that domestic and international pressure on Israel will force it to halt the war. IDF chief Herzi Halevy addressed this issue on January 13, saying: 'The Hamas leadership is pinning its hopes on a ceasefire, and is convinced that this moment is near. The goals of the war are complex and hard to achieve and will take a long time – we said this from the first moment. To dismantle Hamas, steadfastness and patience are essential. We completed the dismantlement of Hamas' military framework in northern Gaza, and now the troops are engaged in missions to deepen and maintain these achievements in this area. There are still terrorists out there, there is still some infrastructure. We will continue to attack, to pursue, and to destroy'...
"At the current stage of the war, Israel needs a combination of two approaches: recapturing the northern Gaza Strip (north of the Gaza river) and deepening Israeli control there, and hermetically sealing the Philadelphi corridor, which is used for smuggling, as a practical solution to prevent Hamas and other terrorist groups from rearming."
The most recent statement from Hamas makes it clear that the terror group wants Israel to leave the Gaza Strip before any hostages are freed.
According to some reports, Hamas has stated that it is willing to free the hostages in stages. It undoubtedly wants to hold on to as many hostages as possible as an "insurance policy" that Israel will not resume the war against the terror group and that the terrorist group will be able to have a free hand to attack Israel in the future. This implies that a large number of the hostages remain captive in the hands of the terror group for years. It is important to note that for the past 10 years, Hamas has been holding hostage two Israeli civilians who are believed to be still alive, as well as the remains of two IDF soldiers.
In reality, ending the war now means an Israeli surrender, ensuring that Hamas can continue to control the Gaza Strip. Hamas wants to see Israel defeated and humiliated. The terror group seeks to proclaim victory and send a message to Israel's enemies that the October 7 atrocities were worth the high cost that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have paid.
Allowing Hamas to remain in power means that the terror group will pursue the Jihad (holy war) to murder more Jews and destroy Israel. As senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said shortly after the October 7 Hamas-led attack:
"The Al-Aqsa Flood (the name of the Hamas-led invasion of Israeli communities) is just the first time, and there will be a second, third, and fourth. Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country. We are not ashamed to say thus, with full force. We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again."
Hamas is willing to fight to the last Palestinian. The terror group does not care if tens of thousands of its own people lose their lives as a result of the war it began. Its No. 1 priority is to hold on to power after the war. Hamas is evidently hoping that a ceasefire-hostage deal will help it achieve its goal of retaining control over the Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Siam, a Palestinian political analyst closely associated with Hamas, underscored the terror group's disregard for the lives of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip:
"The price of freedom is sacrifices, and more sacrifices. In general, it can be said that the word surrender does not exist in Hamas's dictionary...
"Hamas's calculations come from a desire to sacrifice and die for the sake of God and attain martyrdom. For Hamas members, martyrdom and victory are the greatest goals. Hamas will never surrender."
If the Biden-Harris administration wants to understand the real intentions and aims of Hamas, it just needs to look at what the terror group is saying in Arabic. Hamas and its allies are saying in Arabic that the only deal they would accept is one that results in Israel raising a white flag.
If Hamas is permitted to win the war, Iran and its other terror proxies, such as Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis, will gain confidence and feel more empowered. In addition, this will convey to Muslim Jihadis worldwide that Israel and the West are too weak to protect their people and values against Islamist terror organizations. This weakness will lead to more terrorism not only against Israel, but also the US and most Western nations.
Instead of applying pressure on Israel to end the war, the Biden-Harris administration needs to demand firmly that the Hamas murderers and rapists totally surrender, disarm, cede control over the Gaza Strip, and release all the hostages unconditionally.
All this needs urgently needs to take place before Iran breaks out its nuclear weapons and sets about attacking its oil-rich neighbors, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, again.
If Hamas refuses to comply, the Biden-Harris administration and the rest of the world should fully support Israel's effort to destroy the terror group's military capabilities and remove it from power.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a couple of donors who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
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