Islamic radicalism, Hamas’s motivation in the conflict with Israel, according to a Middle East specialist

The war that Israel declared to Hamasthe Palestinian Islamist group after the attack on Israeli territory on October 7, cannot be considered solely as a territorial dispute. Thousands of years of history and a strong religious context weigh on the conflictconsidering Gabriel Ben Tasgala specialist in the history of Middle East and political analyst.

Ben Tasgal, invited to a video conference by the Consulate General of Israel in Ecuadorstated that Hamas’s main motivation for attacking Israel is Islamic radicalism.

How Hamas prepared, along with other armed groups, to carry out the deadly attack on Israel on October 7

“Every radicalized person believes that Jews and Christians are false religions. Until Islam arrived, and that is the religion that counts,” Ben Tasgal said on Tuesday, November 28. And according to the political analyst, Hamas consists of radical Islam believers.

Are three factors that the specialist evaluates to confirm this The reason Hamas attacks Israel is not territorial and would make no sense without religion.

What he states is, first of all, that the Gaza Strip, where Hamas operates, has not been militarily occupied by the Israeli army since 2005. Second, he explained that approximately 20,000 Palestinians crossed the border to work in Israel every day, making them economically sufficient. And finally, the Israeli army’s defenses are technologically developed so that no one would dare attack the country.

Israeli Ambassador to Ecuador: ‘It’s not a war between Israel and Hamas, it’s a representation of something much bigger, something global’

They fight for martyrdom

The real motivation, according to Ben Tasgal, is the Islamic jihad‘. It consists of a doctrine whose main purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement by an Islamic State in the Palestinian territories.

According to the expert, it is the values ​​of radical Islam that allow Hamas members to embark on their mission of destruction. One of those values ​​is that there is more valuable life after death, so death does not mean much to believers.

“The perspective is not in this life, but in the future life. You believe so much in the future life that if you commit suicide today and be a martyr today, you will achieve thisBen Tasgal explained.

However, the historian accepts that that is not the thought of all believers in Islambut of a powerful Muslim minority imitating the ‘violent’ tactics of the army of Mohammed, the founder of Islam.

The future of the conflict: ‘It will not be a short war’

Taking into account religious and historical factors, Ben Tasgal suggests three scenarios to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The first scenario would be that Israel continues to rule the Gaza Strip in the form of a military occupation, something that the Israeli authorities have not ruled out. The second scenario is that the authority to govern itself is returned to Palestine, but the expert believes that this will not last long before another attack takes place.

While Israel acknowledges it is negotiating another extension of ceasefire with Hamas, Netanyahu says it will go to war again if hostage releases end

The third scenario, the most realistic for Ben Tasgal, is that Israel completely defeats Hamas and gives the Palestinian Authority civilian rule over the people of Gazabut keep the right to military access when there is any sign of a group like Hamas.

“If Hamas is successful and shows itself as someone who is successful, who has humiliated the West and humiliated the Israeli army, imitators will appear,” the specialist said.

But “we have an (Israeli) army that is going to defend us and the problem is that many people are not used to Jews defending themselves,” he concluded. (JO)