Yesterday, there was a flurry of attention when the Guardian reported that a member of Hamas’s Gaza political bureau said the terrorist group would stay out of any conflict between Israel and Iran. Such a stand fit in with the idea that Hamas had completely broken with its former patron and was now more interested in aligning itself with Egypt and bolstering its influence on the West Bank. If true, it would have been good news for Israel, but optimism on this score may have been, at best, premature. A more senior Hamas official is quoted today by an Iranian wire service as saying Hamas would indeed attack Israel in the event of an Israeli strike on Iran.
Ties between Hamas and Iran have become strained, especially after Hamas dropped its support for Tehran ally Bashar Assad in Syria. But it is difficult to imagine the group maintaining a cease-fire in a situation where Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah are both launching missiles at Israel. Though Iran’s financial clout in Gaza has reportedly lessened in recent years, the ayatollahs probably understand the dynamic of Palestinian politics will always force Hamas to resort to violence if given the opportunity.
The Iran-Hamas alliance has always been an awkward fit because of the Shia-Sunni religious differences between them. Unlike Hezbollah, which has always subordinated itself to its religious elders in Iran, Hamas has taken Tehran’s money and arms without pledging allegiance to the ayatollahs. But their Islamist worldview allowed for them to find common ground with Iran in their hatred for the West and Israel. And so long as Egypt was cooperating with Israel in quarantining Gaza, Hamas couldn’t be choosy about its friends. Now that Hamas’s Muslim Brotherhood allies are ascendant in Egypt, they are free to pick their own fights and need not take orders from Tehran.
But the idea that the terror group would stand down while the region was aflame runs contrary to everything we know about Hamas. It has built its reputation in Palestinian politics on violence, and for all the talk about transitioning to politics via its alliance with Fatah in the Palestinian Authority, its source of legitimacy remains its willingness to shed Israeli blood. So while Hamas may not be eager to start a fight with Israel it is sure to lose and is not of its own choosing, the humiliation of standing aside while Hezbollah and Iran attack the Jewish state might be more than its leaders can bear.
The question for Israel is not whether Hamas will fire missiles at southern Israel in the event of a strike on Iran but whether the group will hope to get by with just a token gesture rather than putting itself on a full war footing. Either way, Israel’s Defense Ministry is probably not assuming its southern front will be quiet should war break out.
I wonder if Palestinians are ever going to "get it" that being the designated fall guy for ever bunch of anti-Semitic dimwits on the planet is neither productive or sustainable?
No, they are fulfilling their own prophecy – the Book of Obadiah.
Who and why would anyone who understands Muslims in their infinite variety even begin nto think Hamas would stay out of the conflict is beyond me. This is what Jihad means, this nis what perverted Islam is, this is what Iran, Saudia Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood are nall about..conquest and forcible conversation or death! The sooner we understand the nfaster we can come to terms with what will be necessary to put an end to their hate!!
Not just "perverted" Islam.
Hamas has it's own special prophecy – the entire Book of Obadiah, for its own violence and injustice and lies and murder. Every day that passes is a day closer to the day that prophecy shall be fulfilled, perfectly. One day, it will come upon them suddenly and unawares and without further warning – their entire Harvest – seed in Kind, and nothing of it robbed from them.
Israeli forces could take Hamas out of any picture within a couple of days. In fact, if Hamas is so foolish as to try to take advantage of an Israeli conflict with Iran, they will be destroyed and the damage to Gaza will be just short of irreversible.
Israel’s Defense Ministry is probably not assuming its southern front will be quiet should war break out.
I think there are certain moves could convince Hamas to refrain from any lethal fire upon Israel whatsoever and stick to bombing empty fields. Israel can take Gaza alot faster than some may believe and there would be not unlikely significant enemy casualties.
It is my belief that Iran and Syria need to go through a process of regime change. It is high time that Russia and China be convinced that unless they do the right thing, we’re going to cut them off, from everything including cultural. We can go back to producing our own goods, our own quality goods. I do not wish to buy anything made in China.
The US should file for bankruptcy and default on it’s debt to China, they have taken enough.
End the importation of foreign corporate slavemasters.