Hamas and Israel – which is the block on peace?
JVL Introduction
Hamas has a new leader Khalil Al-Hayya who received only one more vote than his more pragmatic rival Khaled Meshaal, Hamas’ former top political leader representing the movement’s moderate wing.
+972 suggests that “(w)hat tipped the scale in Al-Hayya’s favor was the uncertainty over the path ahead, especially with Israel refusing to advance the Trump deal and repeatedly violating the ceasefire. Israel’s assassinations also factored in heavily.” (my emph LL)
Differences of opinion and approach in a political organisation are hardly unusual, especially when there is such a difficult path to tread to create the possibility of peace and reconstruction for the people of Gaza.
Even Jared Kushner realises that negotiation with Hamas is unavoidable yet still calls on total disarmament from them. It is important to remember that there was no Hamas until December 1987, nearly 40 years after the Nakba and 20 years after Israel’s occupation began.
Meanwhile ten months into the so called “ceasefire”, an Israeli air strike reported to kill at least six in Gaza and wounded many more – their crime, sitting on the beach trying to get some respite from the claustrophobia and intense heat of their tent.
This article was originally published by +972 Magazine on Thu 6 Aug 2026. Read the original here.
As Israel sabotages Gaza talks, Hamas’ new ‘warrior leader’ faces his first challenge
Loading article text…
An interesting and informative article from +972 but …
Does anyone believe Israel WON’T carry on killing and dispossessing the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank while the state can do so with impunity?
Does anyone believe the EU and other countries WILL pile enough economic and political pain on Israel to force a change in its path?
Lacking equivalent military power to Israel and the USA, the best the new Hamas leadership can do is to play a weak hand with enormous skill. It won’t be able to do much more than occasionally block its opponent until Israel’s US / Trumpian shield breaks with its “ally” or loses the capacity to protect it. We may be closer to that scenario than we think – but if we’re not, then the genocide can’t be stopped. It can only be punished at a later date.