Egyptian Crisis Reduces Friction Between Israel and Hamas
Both Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza have an interest in preventing a further deterioration on the Egyptian border.
Isn't it ironic that Hamas' best relationship these days is with Israel? This point has not been lost on either party. They remain bitter enemies, of course, but it is also true that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demonstrating that in a time of great uncertainty, it has no interest in toppling “the devil it knows” in Gaza. Hamas, for its part, knows that notwithstanding its deep-seated antipathy toward Israel, raison d'etat [state interest] favors practical cooperation with the Zionist entity on its main project — consolidating its power, authority and well-being in Gaza.
This ability to cooperate, as well as to fight, has been a prominent feature of the relationship since Israel's evacuation of settlements and its army from Gaza in September 2005. Evidence of their joint interest in cooperation is all the more true today, as Hamas feels the bitter end of events in Egypt and Syria, and Israel gets a front row view into the perils posed by failing states on its northern and southern borders.
In contrast to the workmanlike relations between Gaza and Jerusalem, the recent setbacks suffered by Hamas in the broader regional arena have placed the Islamic Resistance Movement in predicaments it could not have imagined when the Arab Spring first blossomed.
Its relations with Fatah are as poisonous as ever. Hamas continues to rail against Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, currently at his decision to negotiate about negotiations with Israel. It also blames Fatah for the public onslaught against it under way in the Egyptian media. In addition, the movement has burned its bridges with the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus and is trying mightily to maintain correct relations with Hezbollah and Iran.
