Hamas, the democratically elected governing party in the Gaza Strip, has proven to be a very effective concentrator of power. Despite the privations and hardship of life in the Gaza Strip, the group (labeled a terrorist organization by the State Department and the European Union) has flourished in the eyes of public opinion. Also known as the Islamic Resistance group, Hamas has taken living conditions in Gaza from bad to absolutely squalid. The organization gains power in a systematic fashion by which power begets power, and understanding this progression is key to stopping it.
Voting Hamas was a protest vote against Fatah for many in the Gaza Strip. Of course, the wisdom of voting for an anti-Semitic, genocidal, and generally insane organization whose charter explicitly demands the destruction of Israel among other similar gems is questionable at best, but the skill of basic factual analysis sometimes runs out during extended conflicts. In any case, Hamas is currently the majority government and has deigned it proper to use their authority in the most Machiavellian possible manner. The Islamic Resistance Group (Hamas) reigns over a devastated economy and a tired citizenry. Average daily income is pegged at two dollars, unemployment is at 45%, and 99.3% of the population practices Islam. Hamas uses all three of these factors to manufacture future suicide bombers and fighters to continue its endless war of conquest against Israel. But hey, fighting the big bad Zionists and its fictional international banking conglomerate is a global pastime, particularly in Europe where anti-Semitism is on the march. Again.
Hamas has succeeded in creating dependence due to the bargain-basement per capita income in Gaza. Average citizens are forced to depend on the government for daily necessities such as fuel oil, which is affected by the crippling Israeli inhumane blockade. Yeah, that same blockade that doesn’t exist. Citizens of Gaza are essentially victims of Stockholm syndrome- despite a plunging economy, terrifying conditions, and a government that cares more about killing Israelis than aiding Gazans, public support for Hamas is doing anything but slipping. That’s a bit like the city of Boston waging war against the rest of the US, getting leveled, and then reelecting the mayor; on the other hand, with all the decriminalized marijuana floating around, that’s not so farfetched.
The unemployment rate in the States has recently risen to 7.6%. Fortunately, we’re not shooting each other yet, though a few sad cases have resorted to shooting themselves. In the Gaza Strip, the situation is even grimmer. Unemployment has risen to a mind-blowing 45%. There’s an old English proverb suggesting that an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop. One need only examine the situation in Gaza to realize the wisdom of such a statement. Desperate poverty added to restless unemployed youth is a recipe for extremism, even excluding religious influences for the sake of argument.
Religious influences, however, are enormously important to the conflict in the Middle East. The Gaza Strip is 99.3% Islamic, and the Hamas Charter is 100% Islamist. Niceties like the separation of church and state are glossed over in favor of incitement to religious hatred. The words “Jew” and “Israel” are mentioned no less than 12 and 6 times respectively. “Jihad” is mentioned 36 times. Words of seemingly little import, like “economy”, are only mentioned once. At this point in time, Gaza is brimming with poverty-stricken, unemployed, and Muslim youth. These youth are naturally desirous of a central organizing body. You guessed it; instead of using their human capital clout to create products and improve living standards in the Strip, Hamas is happy to direct their attentions outward to a common cause- the destruction of Israel and Judaism in general.
Hamas is a dangerous organization hellbent on the destruction of the basic precepts upon which Western civilization rests. However, they are powerless without human and ideological capital. The key to limiting the scope of its actions is not to behead it by killing its leadership- to do so still leaves the teeming masses of poor unemployed Muslim youth looking for a cause. Instead, Israel must work to create economic improvement within the Gaza Strip. This cannot be done without removing Hamas, which has mismanaged the economy into the ground. Decisive action must be taken (and is destined to be taken at some point) to absolutely and completely debase Hamas’ power structure. Support for Hamas will remain viable until economic improvements are made, but Hamas is the main impediment to economic improvement. The fact that the group is more interested in killing Israeli citizens than ameliorating the situation in the Strip makes this much clear. Therefore, Israel must decisively crush Hamas and immediately follow up by pumping investment capital into the Gaza Strip lest the group regenerate. To create, Israel must first devastate. The question is whether or not the international community can stomach further military action in Gaza.
Sourced from Age of Pericles (opens in new window)
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