Read this article by Muhammad Shehada. He is from Gaza. The last part stood out to me. He also talks about there is now a realization that armed resistance hasn't achieved anything. That there is nothing Palestinians can do.
Arab officials have also told him that people like Khaled Meshaal and other political leaders in Hamas describe Oct 7 as a reckless disaster behind closed doors. Which we knew. Sinwar and the military ops people acted on their own.
I know you posted this a few days ago, but I wanted to come back to this.
First of all, it's very important that we continue to elevate Palestinian voices. Lord knows they get ignored enough by the MSM.
I would not be surprised if there's a good amount of Palestinians who agree with Muhammad Shehada, and God bless them. War is hell under the best of circumstances. Now factor in a genocidal enemy in the IDF, who views indiscriminate bombing and sniping of children in the head (while being cheerlead by ghouls in the West). I cannot in good faith discount or dismiss anyone who rues the decision by Hamas to launch their attack on October 7.
However I think, that unlike outlets like the NYTimes that speak to 4 Gazans opposed to Hamas and presents their average opinion as representative of the entire population, we need to acknowledge that there will be a spectrum of opinions, most of who mourn the current genocide, yet are not ignorant of reality prior to October 7.
Below is a translation of a summary of a book published by a Hamas operative recently, concerning Al-Aqsa Flood (October 7).
What do Hamas Think About the War?
It's a bit of a long read (which I recommend) but in summary it puts the attack in context of several factors
- Israel's rejection of several peaceful/political initiatives to end the Gaza imprisonment and West Bank Apartheid and partitions
- The oncoming marginalization of the Palestinian issue by the potential signing of the Abraham Accords by Saudi Arabia
- The discovery of flaws in Israel's security perimeter, and the urge to force the issue before the flaws were discovered and closed
They mention that they were surprised by how blatant the flaws were and how successful the attack was.
It is important to acknowledge Hamas' assertion that they literally were caught between a rock and a hard place, with the ultimate effect of the pincer being the forced displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza, providing a template for the West Bank (which is similarly being squeezed). I've had the misfortune of debating with our band of resident retards, one of whom confidently and retardedly states that a non-violent approach would have been the panacea to this issue. Again, the West Bank serves as a simple riposte to this dumb hypothesis.
So while appreciative of Shehada's perspective, evidence does not suggest that the attack was a reckless move... I think it was a carefully deliberated roll of the dice.
What Hamas could not have anticipated was the extent to which Israel was given carte blanche by Biden and the rest of the Western world to not only pursue Hamas operatives, but commit genocide. That was an operational mistake. Like you acknowledged, previous presidents (on both sides of the fence) would have reigned Israel in a long time ago.
Fast forward to today. Nearly 60,000 Palestinians directly killed. Gaza in ruins. Widespread starvation and famine and disease. God forbid I state that this is an acceptable outcome.
On the other hand, Israel's global reputation in tatters. They've lost the upcoming generation at the polls. This is the first time I've seen American politicians on both sides of the aisle (in greater numbers) questioning our support of Israel. The Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia have unequivocally stated that normalization will not happen without the establishment of a Palestinian state. France, the UK, Canada, Australia have recognized Palestine, leaving the US as the only SC member supporting Israel (and this is probably contingent on keeping a more reasonable person out of the White House). Siding with Israel is seen as toxic today. This was unthinkable before October 7.
Only Palestinians have the right to ultimately judge October 7. I'm cautiously hopeful that recent events, despite the tragedy and devastation, have brought us closer to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state where this debate and judgement can be had.