PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As the war between Israel and Hamas rages on into its fifth day, one big question observers may have: To what extent does Hamas represent the Palestinian cause for freedom from Israeli control? A Middle Eastern politics expert offers some context that may help point to an answer.
The United States and much of the world has designated Hamas as a terrorist group. President Joe Biden on Tuesday condemned Hamas’ “act of sheer evil” and pledged the full support of the U.S. government to Israel’s defense.
“Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields,” Biden said. “Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
Does Hamas have the best interests of Palestinians at heart? University of Pennsylvania Middle Eastern politics professor Ian Lustick says it’s complicated, because the majority of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip view Hamas as the only organization taking action against the indignities and violence the Palestinian people have faced over time.
“So right now, no Palestinian really sees very much of a prospect of achieving self-determination or liberation,” Luistick said. “But from the point of view of the average Palestinian, it's only Hamas that is actually doing anything — even if they might not and would not identify with the brutality and extremism of many of the actions and statements of Hamas representatives and those of Islamic Jihad."
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Lustick says there is another big thing to keep an eye on: The Shia Islamist militant group Hezbollah, which has ties to Iran, has a massive force of rocket-propelled weapons pointed at Israel. If it launches them, he says, the number of Israeli casualties will rise dramatically.
"What Israel knows is that if it pushes too hard in Gaza, it risks Hezbollah not being able to restrain itself. And if Hezbollah unleashes an attack on Israel It will shake the entire region.”
Israeli forces reduced neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip to rubble on Tuesday, in retaliation for Hamas’ brutal surprise attack. And Hamas is threatening to kill its Israeli hostages on video.