No matter how hard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the Israeli propaganda machine claim that the outcome of operation «a Pillar of Cloud» against the Gaza Strip was a victory and a harsh lesson to the ruling Hamas movement there, it is now clear that in spite of the sustained sacrifices, Hamas was able to earn the greatest benefits from these events. This is evidenced by the unprecedented scale of the celebrations which were held in Gaza on December 8, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the creation of Hamas and coinciding with the cessation of military operations, during which Israel did not dare to venture into a ground invasion… These celebrations can be called a «winner`s parade» without exaggeration. Not only in the hundreds of thousands of cheering crowds of Palestinians, but also in the fact that on the podium for the first time openly and without fear of Israeli bombing, were all the leadership of the movement, including the appearance after decades of absence of its charismatic leader, Khaled Mashaal. Recall if you will, that it was widely known around the world that on the Sept. 25, 1997, Mossad agents injected poison into Mashaal's ear on the streets of Amman, but were captured by his guards. At the request of the Jordanian authorities, in exchange for their freedom Israel provided an antidote to treat Mashaal and freed from prison the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
It was of course tempting for Tel Aviv to do away with the top of the Islamist movement with just one blow. On the previous day Israel's former defense minister, and the leader of the «Kadima» party, Shaul Mofaz, for example, said: «We should take the opportunity to cut off the snake`s head. Mashaal deserves to die. If Israel will not deal with Hamas with an iron fist, soon we will see Mashaal in the West Bank «(1). The point, however, is that next to the podium for the first time were large delegations from across the Arab world. Netanyahu had no plans to quarrel with all of them, including Obama.
The well known journalist Thierry Meyssan believes that this short war has fundamentally changed the strategic situation of the Jewish state and restored unity among the various sectors of Palestinian society. He, in particular, notes that during the clashes the Palestinian Resistance tried new types of missiles with ranges of up to 120 kilometers, which can easily overcome the so-called «Iron Dome” US-Israeli missile defense system, which in fact is only able to intercept rockets of a simple design. If you combine the missile capability of Hamas and the Lebanese «Hezbollah», almost all Israeli territory would be in range of missiles of the Resistance groups. Consequently, the Israeli defense, which is built on the principle of «strategic depth», is obsolete and does not meet their goals. If the direct damage from such attacks is not so great, the psychological effect is enormous.
Charles Freeman, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and former Deputy Secretary of Defense also said that Israel cannot be considered the winner of this last conflict. The authority of Israel, in his opinion, has fallen dramatically in the eyes of the international community, and in the region. Egypt is celebrating the success of its diplomacy; the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had strong support, even though many states that sent their foreign ministers to Gaza do not like Hamas, and even fear it. Hamas itself has clearly strengthened its political positions in the Palestinian territories and throughout the Arab world. So Hamas was victorious and Israel was defeated.
The local research center «Al Mustaqbal» (Future) held a survey in Gaza, which was attended by 608 people representing all groups, and showed that the policy of the Hamas government has received additional support. 83.7% of respondents stated that the «resistance» emerged victorious from the «pillar of cloud.» 76% were satisfied with the success of the Islamists. 55% were sure that in the next two years there will again be a war with Israel. 87% expressed satisfaction at the «bad» relations between Egypt and Israel. 58.1% believe that the Palestinian factions will soon make peace. 65.3% said that after the last armed conflict with Israel, their mood improved. 44.6% voted in favor of Hamas and 23.2% in favor of Fatah. (2)
During the main rally, and encouraged by his audience, the Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal continued to demonstrate his intransigence towards Israel, saying that «the path of Jihad and Resistance will remain the main strategic direction of the movement until the complete liberation of Palestine from the River to the Sea!» (3)
Israel's Foreign Ministry protested to the fact that Khaled Mashaal`s public appeal for « the destruction of Israel» did not become the subject of international criticism. (4)
However, his practical steps indicate that Mashaal is considering more pragmatic solutions. It also demonstrates the willingness to seriously seek an end to Palestinian internal strife. On the day before the rally, Khaled Mashaal accompanied by a Hamas delegation and Senior Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Yasser Arafat's sister Khadija in Gaza. A Member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Izzat al-Rishq said on Facebook, that the meeting was «emotional and touching.»
The Hamas delegation later visited the Al-Kidwa family home (the Yasser Arafat family nest) and met with the Fatah commanders Zakaria al-Agom and Gasham Abdul Razzaq.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, while distancing himself from some of Mashaal`s statements and generally watching the growth of his popularity among Palestinians with great jealousy, acknowledges that the process of reconciliation between the two leading Palestinian factions is really gaining momentum. At a news conference in Ankara, where he paid a two-day visit, Abbas said: «I do not agree with Mashaal`s statements that he» will never recognize the state of Israel, because we practically recognized this in 1993». However, Abbas confirmed the fact that recently Fatah had been moving closer to Hamas in some political issues.
Hamas declared that in the near future it is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the West Bank, in Ramallah and Nablus, and that there is already an agreement on this with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority. If it happens, it will be the first open and legal manifestation of mass activity by the Hamas movement in the West Bank since 2007, when the movement was driven out by its Fatah rivals and the PA security forces arrested many Hamas activists. A number of Israeli online media have reported, that an agreement on the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hamas in the West Bank has been reached with the PA, after the Hamas government in Gaza agreed to allow Fatah to hold a celebration in Gaza on its anniversary on January 1, 2013
The current leadership of Egypt is playing a particularly active role in helping to achieve Palestinian unity as an important condition for the successful confrontation with Israel. In addition to an ideological affinity with the Hamas movement, which is watched over by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, they are trying to gain extra sympathy on the part of their own people at a time when country is in turmoil over the new constitution. Egyptian public opinion is traditionally very hostile to Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinians. On Wednesday, December 12 a delegation from the Islamic Resistance Movement, led by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, and composed of members of the Hamas political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq and Muhammad Nasr had already arrived in Cairo from Gaza and met with the head of Egyptian intelligence Rafat Shehata, who took over his post after the departure of long-term «guardian» to the Palestinians, O. Suleiman. According to «knowledgeable» Arabic sources, the main issue in the negotiations between the parties was a discussion of the latest developments around Palestinian reconciliation.
Also Tel Aviv has tried not very successfully to punish the Palestinians financially. Even if the Israelis declared after the vote on the recognition of Palestine at the UN General Assembly that it would stop the transfer to the Palestinian Authority of taxes collected for it under the Oslo agreements, to do so is not easy in practice. Firstly, Arab countries have expressed a willingness to compensate the Palestinians for a significant portion of the losses. And, secondly, because we are not talking about Israeli funds, but Palestinian funds that Israel collects only technically. Not only does the embezzlement of money from the already impoverished Palestinians somehow look very ugly, but in fact that this operation is part of the framework agreement. In revising it unilaterally, Israel is opening a dangerous «Pandora's box», from which over time, for example, can pop out an Arab rejection of the Camp David Agreement. Incidentally, not even the true friends of Israel overseas will stand for it. Thus, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the United States is negotiating with Israel to resume the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority. «We explained to the Israeli government, that in our opinion, the PNA funding is absolutely necessary. The Government of Israel should cooperate with the Palestinian Authority to resolve all conflicts and reduce tensions, and build an atmosphere of trust, which will help them to return to direct talks».
Against this background, King Abdullah made a statement saying that after the elections in Israel early next year direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians may resume, under his auspices. During a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Jordanian monarch hinted that negotiations between the parties will be held in his country. «Very soon, the U.S. administration will shift its focus from domestic issues to foreign policy, and especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict», said the Jordanian king.
At the same time, all calculations can be overturned if the region opens up a new front in the fighting, for example, with Syria or Iran. If Netanyahu`s services in this case become more demand-driven, then in return, he will almost certainly require a greater freedom of action in regard to the Palestinians.
