by Dr. Reuven Berko
Much of the Islamic
world is currently engaged in the commandment of Hajj, the pilgrimage to
Mecca, ahead of the festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice),
when, according to Islamic tradition, Abraham went up to offer his son
Ishmael -- not Isaac, as in the Jewish tradition -- as a sacrifice to
God. Regretfully for many Muslims, millions of Ishmaels are sacrificing
each other every day, contrary to the widespread and sad tradition of
striking the "infidel" or the "other."
Meanwhile, Hamas is
also preparing its own sacrificial feast. The terror tunnel that was
discovered inside Israeli territory, well-financed and made of concrete,
is a hateful declaration of renewed hostility against us. Though
Israelis foiled the plot, it is nevertheless an act of aggression.
Through this tunnel -- and others that have yet to be discovered -- the
organization has sought to launch a series of terror attacks, operations
designed to murder and kidnap Israeli hostages in the near future.
Since the interim
Egyptian government took over in Cairo, Hamas has seemingly rejected any
Islamic or multilateral Arab support, allowing it to manage its
conflict with Israel. Maybe, precisely under these circumstances, Hamas
decided it would be auspicious to escalate the conflict with Israel now.
The sanctions imposed
by the Egyptian military against Hamas' tunnels and activities in the
Sinai Peninsula have strangled the organization militarily and
economically. The Muslim Brotherhood -- openly supportive of Hamas --
has found itself struggling to survive Egypt's current military
government. The tunnel infrastructure, which mainly benefited close
associates of the leadership, has been destroyed. Distribution of
gasoline, medicine and other products has flagged. As prices skyrocket,
the Gazan public is growing increasingly agitated.
According to sources in
the Gaza Strip, Hamas is concerned that the Tamarod opposition has been
getting stronger while planning subversive activities. Rumor has it
that mass protests are scheduled for Nov. 11 to try to oust Hamas. To
prepare, the organization has ordered security forces to shoot at
protesters to put the brakes on accelerating unrest. The expected
Israeli response to the tunnel operation was meant to stymie the
likelihood of such events from occurring.
Under the current
circumstances, the Islamist terror group doesn't have much left to lose.
What could Hamas gain from a conflict with Israel? Successful
operations to murder or kidnap Israelis were meant to boost the
organization's popularity. The Israeli counter-attack was then supposed
to embarrass the interim Egyptian government, painting it as a
collaborator with Israel. The expected conflict would then supposedly
strengthen the Egyptian Brotherhood at the expense of the "traitors" of
"the nation," seditiously exploiting the already volatile religious
cocktail comprising the Hajj season, the Feast of the Sacrifice and the
claims of destruction of the Al-Aqsa mosque. Hamas leader Khaled
Mashaal, Israeli Arab Islamic activist Raed Salah and even Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are all working from these inciting
motifs as we speak.
Additionally, the
tunnels are meant to humiliate the Palestinian Liberation Organization,
which has failed to free Palestinian prisoners, languishing instead in
pointless negotiations with Israel. Hamas was hoping to reuse the
Schalit formula: Strike a series of blows on the Israeli homefront,
kidnap hostages, successfully secure the release of prisoners -- all to
paint Israel as beaten and blackmailed.
The likely conflict was
supposed to hurt Israel -- the Jewish state enjoying an "insufferable"
quiet while the Islamic world wallows in a puddle of its own blood --
focusing the Islamic world on the Palestinian conflict, freeing Hamas
from the grip of a deadlock and its steady march toward collapse just
beyond the turning point. Mashaal and his associates have been traveling
to Hamas' beloved capitals in Istanbul, Tehran and Beirut, apparently
to seek financial, military and political backing for the expected
showdown.
It appears that Hamas
-- an expert in digging tunnels around Rafah -- decided it was
worthwhile to invest millions in new terror tunnels penetrating Israel
in return for lucrative political benefits.
The highly invested
terror tunnel that the IDF uncovered is basically PR leverage for
everyone complaining about the blockade on Gaza. The early detection of
the tunnel constitutes a slap in the face to Hamas, which invested huge
capital in the project, assuming its furtiveness. But the project was
penetrable, thanks in large part to the security apparatus.
Still, we must remember that our defenses are constantly dealing with the threat of several terror tunnels yet to be discovered.
It is more than likely that,
ahead of the current Feast of the Sacrifice, leaders of the murderous
organization, locked in an existential trap, intended to sacrifice
several Isaacs. There is no better time than Eid al-Adha to send the
architects of the tunnel enterprise for a meeting with the late Hamas
founder Ahmed Yassin, who has already been promoted to the coveted
status of martyr, so that, unlike in the story of Abraham's sacrifice of
Isaac, we're not the ones who end up sorry.
Dr. Reuven Berko
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5989
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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