WarSclerotic

The West and some of the Arab and Islamic nations are gearing up for a possible military strike against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s criminal regime, and their preparations coincide with the changes in Egypt and the recently renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace process. This situation highlights Hamas’ confusion in the Gaza Strip.

The series of events plaguing Hamas as a result of the regional upheaval jeopardizes its position in Gaza Strip and in the Palestinian theater. Some say it is on the verge of catastrophe, while other hedge that this is a time of opportunity for the organization.

A glance at the geostrategic climate in which Hamas was operating prior to the events in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt reveals the kind of heaven even Hamas co-founder Ahmed Yassin never dreamed of before he went to hell. Syria was its extended headquarters, providing it with funding, weapons and a link to Hamas leaders worldwide, while the Gaza regime served as a de facto government, challenging the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy by adamantly refusing to reconcile with it.

Hamas has fired missiles at Israel and its leadership declared its intention to annihilate the Jewish state. Gaza’s rulers were popular with various countries worldwide, especially with Turkey, which sent the Mavi Marmara to its shores in a show of solidarity. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a Muslim Brotherhood man, even planned to visit Gaza Strip.

Hamas’ government was an example for a “Brotherhood revolution.” It received millions of dollars in suitcases that traveled through the underground tunnels in Rafah and fostered thriving “tunnel economics” policies. It allowed Hamas to bring weapons and vehicles into Gaza and pay collaborators with cash and jobs. This method was successful, and Hamas deliberately manufactured conflicts with Israel to prevent the transfer of goods though the crossings.

Shiite Iran offered Hamas terrorists training and sent money and weapons to the Gaza Strip, inspiring Hezbollah to do the same. Qatar lent Hamas Al-Jazeera’s services as its mouthpiece, seeking to remain in the good graces of Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal, his top delegate in Gaza Mahmoud al-Zahar and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Other Persian Gulf states, wary of the Muslim Brotherhood’s growing power, paid the leaders of the “besieged and struggling” Gaza Strip a fortune.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s rule in Egypt facilitated Hamas’ paradise, as he was willing to overlook the booming tunnel industry and the arms flowing through them from Iran, Lebanon and Africa. The Sinai Peninsula had become an extraterritorial terror hub controlled by al-Qaida and global jihad, serving as the base of operations and logistics for Hamas in Egyptian territory.

The government formed by Mohammed Morsi in the post-Mubarak era, which was endorsed by Hamas even after it was deposed, tried to appear as if it was fighting Islamist terror to appease the West, and slowly razed a few tunnels in Sinai, but for the most part, it overlooked what was going on in the area, opting to participate in the Brotherhood’s Gaza-based charade.

The storm clouds gathering over Hamas are the product of the backlash against it in Egypt, as the Egyptian public pushed back against the dozens of terror attacks that were attributed to Hamas in Sinai, where it is in cahoots with radical Islamists. These attacks killed dozens of Egyptian soldiers, compromised the gas pipeline, and tried to drag Israel and Egypt into war.

The Egyptian opposition accused Morsi of conspiring with Hamas against Cairo’s interest, with the intent of giving Sinai to the Palestinians, and allowing the smuggling of goods into Gaza at the expense of the Egyptian public. The coup led by Defense Minister Col. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, which targeted Hamas as well, has all but obliterated the tunnel industry, blocking Hamas’ arms and money route.

The massacre performed by Syrian President Bashar Assad has driven Hamas’ top operatives out of Syria, and there is no love lost between them and Jordan, as everyone knows. Tehran and Hezbollah, which support Assad against the Muslim Brotherhood, have cut off the flow of funds and arms, and other Arab nations have distanced themselves from them as well. Hamas is on the verge of bankruptcy and is losing its popularity in Gaza. It is likely to fall from grace in the West Bank as well.

Some believe that Israel would prefer the weakened Hamas to remain in charge in Gaza, which will perpetuate the Palestinian rift and allow Israel to avoid reaching an agreement with the Palestinian Authority. Hamas’ imminent downfall — despite Turkey’s backing — is unlikely to push it to pursue reconciliation with the PA, let alone negotiations with Israel. After all, “he who talks to Allah, does not talk to Abdullah.”