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Hamas breaks the shackles in Gaza

The dismantling of the border fence separating Gaza from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula by Hamas promises to energise the Palestinian movement against Israeli occupation. Nearly 350,000 hungry and sleep-deprived Palestinians poured into Egypt on the morning of January 23 once the Hamas cadres breached the border wall using explosives. Taken aback at the outpouring of humanity from Gaza, Egyptian border guards decided not to resist the massive cross-border infringement. As parts of the three-km metal and concrete barrier began to give way, a bulldozer was pressed into service to widen the gap. Soon, cars and heavier vehicles freely moved towards the Egyptian towns of Rafah and Al Areesh to bring home much-needed essential supplies. The border was closed after 11 days following talks between Egyptian officials and Hamas leaders.

Some Palestinian leaders have described the events at the Rafah border as the beginning of the “third Intifada” or third uprising against Israeli occupation. The first Intifada, also called the “war of stones,” was a mass uprising that began in 1987 and lasted for six years. The second Intifada was launched in September 2000. Embarking on the bold and finely calibrated initiative on January 23, Hamas nullified the Israeli bid to cut off essential supplies to Gaza by besieging the coastal strip from all sides. It resorted to the move after the implications of the Israeli siege began to sink in. By nightfall on January 20, there was darkness in Gaza after Israel stopped fuel supplies for the two turbines at the main power station in the coastal strip. Despite being accused of enforcing “collective punishment,” the Israeli authorities argued that they had adopted the punitive measure to deter Palestinian groups from launching Qassam rocket attacks on their territory from Gaza.

The stunning riposte by Hamas has major implications. For starters, it has demonstrated that the organisation’s popular appeal in Gaza has not diminished, despite the series of harsh measures Israel adopted in recent years against its leaders, as well as the local population. On the contrary, Hamas has emerged rejuvenated after successfully staging the mass action on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Seeking to consolidate its influence along Gaza’s southern frontier, Hamas has declared that it will no longer accept Israeli or “international” meddling in border management and that it will like to partner Egypt in manning it directly. Under an arrangement worked out in 2005, the Presidential guard, loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was coordinating with Israel and the European Union (EU), in charge of controlling the Palestinian side of the border. The arrangement collapsed due to the growing assertion of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Rejecting Israeli involvement at the Rafah border crossing in future, Ahmad Youssef, political advisor to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, was quoted in the Arabic daily Al Hayat as saying: “The Israelis are not at all concerned with administering the crossing points. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip [in September 2005] and must not be allowed to have a say in the issue of opening or closing the crossing point.” He added, “Passing through the Rafah crossing point is a third uprising to break the siege and regain Palestinian pride and dignity.”

Dismissing the need for EU monitors on the border, Mr. Youssef said: “We don’t want any European presence. We want the crossing to be administered jointly by the Palestinians and Egyptians.”

The Hamas’ defiance in the face of extreme adversity has jolted the leadership in the region and beyond into realising that this group cannot be ignored in the search for a durable solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute. Among the Arab countries, Saudi Arabia was the first to acknowledge that Hamas was not part of the problem but needed to be accepted as part of the solution to the conflict.

In February 2007, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz invited both Hamas and rival Fatah to Makkah to unite the two Palestinian factions. His efforts succeeded for some time for, the two groups emerged from Makkah with a deal to form a “national unity” government. However, their relationship deteriorated dramatically, leading to street battles in Gaza in June. These clashes led to Fatah’s exit from Gaza, leaving Hamas as the most powerful organisation in the region.

Saudi Arabia is now making a second attempt to bring the Palestinian factions together. On January 27, Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal met Foreign Minister Saudi Al Faisal in Riyadh to discuss the situation arising out of the developments on the Gaza-Egypt border. The Arabic daily, Asharq Al-Awsat, quoted Moussa Abu-Marzouk, vice-president of the Hamas politburo, as saying the discussions covered “the ongoing Saudi efforts aimed at reunifying Palestinian ranks.”

Egypt, the second regional heavyweight, has also decided to engage Hamas in discussions on the fallout of the border breach. On January 30, the Egyptians invited Mr. Meshaal as well as Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas for talks. Hamas officials say that talks with the Egyptian intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, have been successful. Both sides agreed that the Rafah border should be sealed again. Egypt is now considering detailed proposals by Hamas to regulate the border without the involvement of Israel or European monitors.

The developments along the Rafah border have forced the Egyptians to rework their stance on the Palestinian situation. Egypt and Israel normalised their relations in 1979. Fifteen years later, Jordan followed Egypt in signing a peace treaty with Israel. Since then, the Egyptians have worked with the West on issues related to the Arab-Israeli dispute.

However, the Egyptian leadership may like to impart a greater “balance” to its position on the Israel-Palestine issue following the January 23 events. Arab media reports suggest that the popularity of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak surged significantly after the Palestinians were allowed to enter Egypt. The Egyptian daily Al-Mesryoon reported that an opinion poll by Egyptian research centres showed that his popularity jumped by 95 per cent. “The participants expressed their readiness to shoulder any Israeli-American reaction against Egypt, even if the price was cutting off the aid completely. Some of the participants went further and expressed their readiness to engage in a war against Israel if the latter started responding to [Mr.] Mubarak’s decision, which they described as brave,” the newspaper said.

Cairo’s decision was also driven by the intense pressure that civil society groups started mounting on it. The London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds-Al-Arabi said more than 70 demonstrations supporting the trapped Palestinians were held in Egypt in the space of three days. Analysts also say a pro-Palestinian stance could undercut the influence of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Mr. Mubarak’s main political adversary. It remains to be seen how far he can reconcile the demands of domestic public opinion with growing international pressures that would dissuade him from altering course. The rising influence of Hamas in the Arab Street is also forcing other governments in the region to take notice of this organisation.

Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have already declared that they expect not words, but concrete support from Arab governments. In an interview with Al Quds Al-Arabi, Khalid Al-Batsh, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, said: “They [Arab leaders and organisations] should back the Egyptian stance of removing the wall on the border. They should allow us to get our necessities, which we now get from Israel, from the Arab countries. Currently we pay the price of these commodities to the enemy. The Arabs deserve to get this price themselves.” Mr. Al-Batsh repeatedly stressed that the Israeli siege of Gaza was far from over.

On an international scale, the border breach at Rafah has reinforced the argument that the road map for peace, steered by the United States, and premised on the exclusion of Hamas from the negotiations, is unsustainable. Not only Hamas but also its key supporters, Iran and Syria, would have to be engaged for a durable solution to emerge.

The assertion by Hamas is part of a larger ferment in West Asia, where the diminishing influence of Israel and the U.S. is being matched by the growing clout of regional players including Iran, Saudi Arabia and, possibly, Egypt.

After the end of the Cold War, Russia and China are also working behind the scenes to enhance their influence among the key countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. Successful international diplomacy will, therefore, have to account for the transitional realignment of power equations in West Asia as the basis for lasting success.

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