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Killings May Make Hamas More Formidable
| Sure, wiping out the top leaders always makes an organization better. EFL. |
GAZA CITY -- In the wake of Israeli airstrikes that have decapitated the leadership of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian militant group may become even more fragmented and radicalized than before, leading to new dangers for Israel, according to Palestinian political leaders and analysts familiar with the internal operations of the organization. "The worst thing is a headless Hamas," said Eyad Sarraj, a prominent Palestinian apologistpsychiatrist and human rights advocate who has closely monitored the role of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. "A headless Hamas means too many heads, too many agendas. Then you can't control exactly what happens."
| "So stop killing our leaders. Please." |
With the assassination of the most influential leaders of Hamas, and raids that have killed or captured nearly the entire West Bank military command structure, the military wing in the Gaza Strip has become the most dominant faction of the organization, according to Israeli military officials and Palestinian officials.
Mohammed Deif and Adnan Ghoul, the leaders of the military wing -- known as the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades -- remain in command, and the ranks of disciplined and well-armed fighters are largely intact, Palestinian and Israeli officials said. "The new generation of leaders thinks in only one way -- the military wings," said Imad Falouji, a Palestinian legislator and former Hamas member who has authored a book about the organization. "The new policy is more dangerous for Israel than ever before. Now there is only a military policy; there is nothing political now."
In recent weeks, Hamas has engaged in intense discussion with other Palestinian factions over control of the Gaza Strip in the event that Israel pulls out. Though the committee has existed since 1996, members said it has been most active since the start of the uprising against Israel. The group has attempted to impose some order on the often conflicting Palestinian factions. The committee's weekly meetings had increased to two and three times a week but stopped with the assassination April 17 of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, members said.
| "Um, next week we're meeting at ... Mahmoud's house!" |
While many members of the panel hold permanent seats, Hamas has rotated its participants, giving other members a glimpse into the personalities and structure of the secretive group. The senior leadership also shared the seat with the next tier of Hamas political officials, who are now the highest-ranking members of the Hamas political hierarchy in Gaza. "No one person monopolized the decisions of Hamas," said Ziad Abu Amr, an independent Palestinian legislator who sits on the committee.
In the absence of Yassin and Rantisi, it is unclear how power will be wielded inside Hamas, but the key players are certain to include the leaders of the Gaza military wing as well as whoever assumes control of the political faction.
Israeli officials said that despite the damage to the Hamas infrastructure, the organization has not lost its capacity to launch serious attacks against Israelis. "On the operational level, we managed to put a lot of constraints on them," said a senior Israeli intelligence official who spoke on the condition that he not be identified by name. "We've been successful, relatively speaking. But it's not the end. It's a wide and deep organization."
Posted by: Steve White 2004-04-26 |
