but right now, Hamas is actually getting what it wants for the first time ever. People are now actually demanding an end to the Israeli apartheid, even though the genocide was happening long before October 7th. They’re no longer suffering in silence, there are members of the West that support Palestine now. That is a massive, massive difference compared to conflicts like the 2014 Gazan War or the many Intifadas, where Israel committed many of the same war crimes today but faced zero consequences internationally for them.
At the same time, the West has the memory of a goldfish. If Hamas cedes now, and we do the dance of both sides planning up for a future conflict again, how can Hamas trust that they’ll receive Western support again? How can they know they won’t be villified, and Israel won’t get away with just committing more warcrimes on them? How do they even know there will be a next time, that Israel won’t strike first next time and exterminate all that remains of Palestine, after another few years of illegal settlements concentrates the population even further?
Their best bet is to maintain the current conflict for as long as possible, and hope that international support doesn’t just require Israel to agree to a mutually beneficial ceasefire, but also that international support adds some guard rails to prevent such force from being used against Palestine again. You’re correct that it’s unreasonable to think that this conflict will end with a two-state solution, or really any solution at all. That doesn’t mean Hamas should accept a spit in the face, which is exactly what the current ceasefire terms are.
but right now, Hamas is actually getting what it wants for the first time ever. People are now actually demanding an end to the Israeli apartheid, even though the genocide was happening long before October 7th. They’re no longer suffering in silence, there are members of the West that support Palestine now. That is a massive, massive difference compared to conflicts like the 2014 Gazan War or the many Intifadas, where Israel committed many of the same war crimes today but faced zero consequences internationally for them.
At the same time, the West has the memory of a goldfish. If Hamas cedes now, and we do the dance of both sides planning up for a future conflict again, how can Hamas trust that they’ll receive Western support again? How can they know they won’t be villified, and Israel won’t get away with just committing more warcrimes on them? How do they even know there will be a next time, that Israel won’t strike first next time and exterminate all that remains of Palestine, after another few years of illegal settlements concentrates the population even further?
Their best bet is to maintain the current conflict for as long as possible, and hope that international support doesn’t just require Israel to agree to a mutually beneficial ceasefire, but also that international support adds some guard rails to prevent such force from being used against Palestine again. You’re correct that it’s unreasonable to think that this conflict will end with a two-state solution, or really any solution at all. That doesn’t mean Hamas should accept a spit in the face, which is exactly what the current ceasefire terms are.
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