The other dangerous actors in Gaza
By Olivier Guitta
I just wrote an analysis for the Middle East Times looking at the other dangerous radical Palestinian groups present in Gaza. Indeed Hamas is far from the only one on the ground.
You can read the full article here.
Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, told the French daily Le Monde six months ago, regarding the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza: "It is unclear how long it might hold, two days or two months. Historically, we are in a curve of a collision with Hamas."
And he was right: the ineluctable military conflict is unfolding in front of our eyes. After a week of aerial strikes, Israel has implemented its plan with a dangerous ground incursion. Where do we go from here?
Did Israel fall into the Hamas/Syrian/Iranian trap? Possibly. Syria thinks that Israel is getting into a messy quagmire. Hamas and Hezbollah clamor that the only reason Hamas broke the ceasefire is that they are now totally ready to face Israel militarily.
In fact, in the past few months, Hamas put in place a war cabinet headed by Ahmad al-Jabari, one of the leaders of its Ezzedine al-Qassam branch, and Said Siam, its former interior minister in the Palestinian government.
While Hamas is no Hezbollah as far as firepower, sophistication and know-how, it seems that they have greatly improved and learned a lot from the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
First, hundreds of Hamas members went to training camps in both Syria and Iran. Second, Hamas has built an extensive network of tunnels and bunkers where its most prized leaders are hiding. Third, like Hezbollah, Hamas has at its disposal very mobile small units that communicate via hand-held radios.
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