US media: Israel may win battle but Hamas wins war
Leading US media outlets say Israel's moves only strengthen Hamas. What Israel considers to be a military achievement might bring further decrease of Mahmoud Abbas' power and distract attention from the crisis in Syria, they say
While Israel's day-to-day life is being disrupted by rockets and sirens, some US media outlets have already crowned Hamas as the winner of the current conflict.
Veteran diplomat Aaron Miller wrote in the Foreign Policy magazine that Hamas won the war and "it doesn't really matter if Israel wins the battle. The reason being that Hamas has trumped Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Related Stories:
- IDF spokesman: No such thing as 'once and for all'
- Try talking to Hamas
- Ban warns of escalation; Clinton to arrive in Israel
Miller noted that since the current conflicts began, US President Barack Obama has spoken with every Arab leader apart from Abbas. He stated that Hamas did not want to establish peace with Israel and that Abbas was unable to do so, even though he was the only viable partner Israel had.
According to the New York Times, "In the West Bank there is a growing sense of identification with Hamas"
Image from Foreign Policy magazine
American journalist Geoffrey Goldberg wrote that the war in Gaza signaled the beginning of a third Intifada – a rocket Intifada, adding that extremists from both sides would be pleased if Hamas gained control of the West Bank.
The New York Times reported from the West Bank about the growing sympathy towards Hamas and mockery towards the Palestinian Authority, which is rapidly losing credibility. The current leader is not President Abbas but Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal.
The New York Times quoted Robert Danin, a senior official at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, who said that: "In calling upon Egypt to rein in the Gaza leaders, Hamas’ centrality grows rather than diminishes, It is this that draws leaders from throughout the Middle East rushing to Gaza while skipping Ramallah to court the Hamas leadership.
"Yet by bypassing Ramallah and President Abbas, they further marginalize the moderate leaders as the proper address for resolving problems.”
