Hamas attacked by Arab commentators from left and right over Gaza flare-up

Following the ceasefire reached Tuesday between Israel and terrorist factions in Gaza, many Arab commentators and analysts seemed uncertain Wednesday as to whether the calm would last or what the launching of missiles from Gaza achieved for Palestinians.

One main point of confusion highlighted by various commentators in Wednesday’s Arabic press is whether Israel has agreed to stop targeted assassinations of Palestinian terrorists. The Al-Quds daily quoted Israeli security official Amos Gilad on Wednesday as saying that targeting will continue. But an unnamed Egyptian diplomat promised the daily that Israel had committed to stop.

“This is not the first time a ceasefire has been reached between the Israeli government and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, but it is the first time an official announcement of Israel halting assassinations is part of the ceasefire package,” Al-Quds wrote.

Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhaleh considered the reported Israeli commitment to refrain from assassinations a “moral victory” for Palestinians, but told Al-Hayat daily, published in London, that he was pessimistic the ceasefire would last.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shihab told Al-Hayat that the movement’s Al-Quds Brigades were prepared to expand their missile range beyond Ashdod and Beersheba, indicating the missiles could reach Tel Aviv.

Arab media highlighted various speculations regarding the cause of Israel’s attack on Gaza, from an attempt to test the new Iron Dome anti-missile system, to a wish to gauge Hamas’s commitment to calm on the border, to a diversionary tactic from Israel’s plans against Iran.

But alongside the usual verbal attacks on Israel, some Palestinian and Arab commentators lambasted Hamas — which refrained from attacking Israel itself — for its inactivity.

Ali Jaradat, writing for Palestinian Authority mouthpiece Al-Ayyam, criticized Hamas on Wednesday for not taking part in the attacks against Israel alongside the Islamic Jihad.

“Hamas was mistaken for not participating in the opposition to the aggression on the ground. This was a missed opportunity to create a popular Arab awakening… which could bring about a Palestinian national accomplishment and change the ceasefire conditions.”

But A-Sharq Al-Awsat editor Tariq Al-Homayed attacked Hamas from the left flank, accusing the Islamic movement of serving Syrian dictator Bashar Assad by allowing a flare-up in Gaza.

“I challenge anyone in Hamas or in Gaza to give us a convincing answer to the following question: Why were these missile launched in the first place? and for whose benefit were Palestinian lives wasted in such a disgraceful manner? The balance of power between Hamas and Jihad and Israel is not equal, and the Arabs are all engaged in attempts to spare Syrian blood from the Damascus dictator,” Al-Homayed wrote on Wednesday.

“It is clear that the merchants of Gaza, the merchants of Palestinian blood, are trying to wage the battle of  Assad, whose regime killed numerous Palestinians,” he concluded. “How much longer will Palestinian blood be tampered with? God only knows.”