General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Hamas 'could not have anticipated' Israel's response to October 7, official says [View all]The Magistrate
(95,264 posts)Seriously, this is bean-breeze.
In the days of the Mandate, there was political leadership centered on the Mufti al-Husseini (who became an open collaborator with Hitler).
There was political leadership centered in the PLO, morphed into the current Palestine Authority.
Hamas is political leadership today in Gaza. It's nonesense to pretend otherwise. The reason Abbas of the PA does not stand for re-election is widely acknowledged to be that if there was such an event in the PA's territory, a Hamas candidate would likely win. People approve of the goals of Hamas, the expulsion of Jews achieved by the extinction of Israel, enough of them do to define the political climate. That has been the goal of Palestinian Nationalism from its beginnings, and remains the organizing and fighting creed of it to this day. Its roots are religious and ethnic bigotry, and persisting in it has led to its adherents dwelling in a paradise of the mind, comprising fantasies of restorative vengeance strained through suicidal ideation. It's a toxic brew, that like most any intoxicant does its imbibers little good.