Now, Khalid Mishal Is The Leader:
"Hamas Is Courageous But Not Reckless!"
22 November 2012
By Tariq Alhomayed
Why is everybody now seeking a truce or ceasefire in
Gaza, particularly Israel and Hamas, as is evident
from their statements, not to mention Egypt, of
course? The answer is very simple, and becomes clearer
day after day, namely that Israel has achieved its
objectives, as has Hamas, whilst Egypt – which is in
the eye of the storm – has other motives.
Netanyahu believes that Israel has dealt a strong blow
to Hamas's infrastructure and gained international
support for its aggression against the Gaza Strip due
to the rocket fire from Gaza. However he does not want
to destroy Hamas completely because the alternative
would be other groups whose loyalties lie with Iran,
which is the greatest inciter of this war. Netanyahu,
of course, is also aware that any ceasefire agreement
will include repercussions regarding future rocket
fire from Gaza, whilst Muslim Brotherhood-ruled Egypt
will serve as a guarantor for this expected ceasefire.
The Israeli Prime Minister has therefore committed
Cairo to taking the same steps as the Mubarak regime;
no military front has been opened, nor have relations
with Tel Aviv been suspended, rather Egypt's efforts
and solutions have all been political. This is because
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi does not have many
options, he truly wants a ceasefire, and this is
something that cannot be denied. Mursi is seeking to
put an end to the repercussions this conflict is
having upon the Egyptian interior.
Egyptian public opinion, not to mention the general
situation in the country, prompted Khalid Mishal to
say, during a press conference in Cairo, that "the
enemy wanted to test the new Egypt…the 25th January
Egypt, and the response was not what was expected. It
wanted to test the Arabs during their Spring, however
the Arabs have met our hopes." Mishal is well aware of
the danger of embarrassing Egypt at this juncture,
particularly as he has achieved what he wanted from
the Gaza war. One of the results of this war and the
forthcoming ceasefire will be the return of Mishal as
leader of Hamas and indeed of the Gaza Strip as a
whole, with Israeli recognition, of course,
particularly following the successful completion of
the ceasefire, which will be internationally backed by
Egypt. So what many people have forgotten, and which I
made reference to in my article "Mursi and Hamas in a
predicament", is that Mishal, even before the most
recent Israeli aggression, had announced his lack of
desire to stand – for the fifth time – for the
leadership of Hamas, a position he has held since
1996. This is due to divisions within the Hamas
movement, and we have repeatedly heard about the
possibility of Mishal being replaced by either Ismail
Haniyeh or Mousa Abu Marzouk. Following this, we heard
the General Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
calling on Mishal to remain silent and not repeat his
talk about stepping down, after he intervened against
the backdrop of the internal Hamas crisis prior to the
current Gaza war. This crisis prevented the elections
for Hamas's political bureau, as well as the choosing
of Mishal's successor, whilst Mishal himself returns
to the leadership today from the gateway of the
Israeli war on Gaza. Therefore Mishal is the one
expressing a desire for ceasefire, saying "we do not
want escalation, Hamas is courageous but not
reckless!" Indeed, Mishal is calling on the
Palestinians today to put an end to their internal
divisions, and here one can only say: Are you serious?
What I want to say is that everybody wants to see an
end to the Israeli aggression against Gaza, and this
includes those who are sincere, as well as the
helpless. However, there are also those who want to
see an end to the Israeli aggression against Gaza in
order to protect what they have achieved; Mishal has
returned as a leader, whilst Netanyahu has benefited
domestically and internationally. As for the victims,
these are, as always, the Palestinians and their
Cause.
This is the truth, albeit a bitter one.
Tariq Alhomayed is the Editor-in-Chief of Asharq Al-Awsat,
the youngest person to be appointed that position. He
holds a BA degree in Media studies from King Abdul
Aziz University in Jeddah, and has also completed his
Introductory courses towards a Master's degree from
George Washington University in Washington D.C. He is
based in London.
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