Time to engage Hamas

Israel's attack on Gaza began following the breakdown of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Hamas refused to extend the ceasefire until Israel lifted the siege it imposed on Gaza after the Hamas takeover in June 2007. Israel claimed that Operation Cast Lead, as it terms it, was launched in order to protect Israel against Hamas' rocket fire.

The timing of the Israeli assault was carefully calculated. With one US president in and another one out, Israel's aggressive attack on Gaza, that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead, received little scrutiny from Washington.

A look one year after the war, it appears that timing was the only thing Israel got right. Despite pulverising much of Gaza's already weak infrastructure, demolishing thousands of homes and imposing a siege on the city in an effort to pressure Hamas, Tel Aviv failed to achieve its main objective of crushing the movement.

Palestinians' bitterness towards Israel has festered. Israel also damaged its reputation internationally, raising criticism from world leaders and human rights organisations. Amnesty International official Kate Allen said: "The wretched reality endured by 1.5 million people in Gaza should appeal anybody with an ounce of humanity… All states must insist that the Israeli government end its blockade and let the people of Gaza rebuild their lives."

Even though the UN Goldstone report never achieved its aim of prosecuting Israeli leaders for war crimes, the fact remains that a majority of 25 of the 46 members of the UN Human Rights Council voted in favour. Most recently, a British court issued an arrest warrant against former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, following allegations of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war. Just few months earlier, British lawyers for 16 Palestinians had filed a petition against the Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, also for his connection with the January war.

A year after the war, not only does the movement of Hamas continue to go on, but its rule in Gaza appears to be more secure than ever.

Growing sympathy

Sympathy for Hamas is likely to increase with the Egyptian plans to build a wall along the border with Gaza. Given that Hamas' popularity stems from it being regarded as the underdog, the wall to be ready in 18 months will only increase Hamas' attractiveness to Arab masses and strengthen its image as the "resistant" force against "injustice".

Leaving aside the moral argument, the Egyptian move appears puzzling. There is no doubt that US pressure played a part in Cairo's decision to build the wall. The US has in the past threatened to withhold $200 million (Dh735.6 million) in military aid when in 2008, members of Congress raised protest over arms smuggling into Gaza. One could also argue that Egypt is punishing Hamas for what it regards as Hamas' non-cooperation towards Palestinian reconciliation. Whatever the reason may be, Egypt seemed to be taking bold actions against Hamas, signalling its increased anxiety towards the Islamist movement's growing popularity and its concern over ties with its own Muslim Brotherhood.

In the past, the majority of Cairo's dealings with Washington and Tel Aviv took place behind closed doors with a public message contrasting starkly with the private plans. The Egyptian government's actions during the Gaza war last year and more evidently, its wall plans, indicate Egyptians panic and fear and there is a rising concern within the government over its ability to maintain domestic stability at a time when secession questions continue to loom.

Although Hamas initially came under heavy criticism for "inviting" Israeli aggression that took the lives of so many innocent Palestinians, the Israeli blockade failed to permanently damage Hamas.

Given that the use of force to crush the movement has failed, Egypt's plans are also likely to fail and have thus far only managed to attract intense criticism against it. Rather than building a "wall of steel", as termed by the Arab press, perhaps it's time for a shift in policy from building wall, to breaking barriers — it is time to seriously engage Hamas.

Dina Khanat is an Arab-American writer currently residing in Dubai.