The Palestinian dilemma: Why Hamas continues to fail the Palestinian people - opinion

What enables Hamas to maintain a grip on a portion of the people of Gaza?

This is not only a reference to the group’s violent physical control of the territory of two million people, as seen again after the latest ceasefire. It also reflects the persistence of narratives embracing the idea of “resistance,” which for three decades has become synonymous with Hamas and the rejection of coexistence and peace with a Jewish Israel.

Throughout the war in Gaza, I have stood by the belief that most people in the Gaza Strip oppose Hamas and want the group’s nihilistic rule to end. I remain convinced that those who have lost homes, loved ones, and livelihoods hold Hamas responsible for the destruction of Gaza and the ruin of the Palestinian national project.

It is also true that many who oppose Hamas do not believe in coexistence with Israel, which they still see as an enemy.

Many Palestinians have good reason to be furious at Israel, especially after two years of a war they view as a campaign of annihilation rather than a targeted effort against Hamas. Others point to settler violence in the West Bank – often protected by the Israeli military and backed by members of the government – and question how peace is possible with a state that denies their humanity and right to live on their land.

Still, powerful narratives persist that reject any peace with Israel or even recognition of its right to exist. When leaders of the Palestinian Authority deny Jewish connection to Jerusalem or the existence of a Jewish temple – despite the Quran itself acknowledging ancient Israel – it undermines the only path forward: a pragmatic, tolerant peace between two peoples.

Sadly, these rejectionist views have become the default for many Palestinians, regardless of class or circumstance. Some, however, have overcome them by engaging Israelis, traveling, and participating in initiatives that challenge black-and-white thinking – showing that such attitudes can change under the right conditions.

Many in Gaza still promote ideas that reject Israel, denounce peace, and prioritize “resistance” over nation-building. Yet most who hold these views are not seeking war; they want stability and prosperity. What they fail to recognize is that Gaza’s well-being and prosperity depend on peace and coexistence with its neighbors.

This creates a striking dissonance: Many want the pride of “resistance” while expecting prosperity and a high standard of living.

This was evident after the massacre on October 7, 2023, when some who had initially celebrated Hamas’s attack quickly changed their tone as Gaza plunged into its deadliest chapter in modern Palestinian history.

For some, opposition to Hamas is partly motivated by the failure of the terror group to advance its nihilistic project over the past 30 years.

Whether it was the sabotaging of the Oslo process, the militarization of the Second Intifada, the blockade of Gaza, or a host of useless wars – especially after October 7 – Hamas has delivered continued and sustained misery, failure, death, devastation, and regression to the Palestinian cause and people.

Instead of fundamentally shifting course and realizing the futility of the ideological, nationalistic, and religious narratives and manipulations that underpin Hamas and elements of the Palestinian national project, many are only willing to see Hamas as a failure and shun the group for its lack of effectiveness rather than what it stands for.

The goal of sharing this is not to offer further confirmation of what many have already theorized. Instead, it is to provide a diagnosis that I have lived for the past two years, up close, not to mention experienced in the decade leading up to October 7, desperately hoping for a new process that can break this cycle.

The reality that will give Israel more to work with is when Palestinians truly feel that they exist, matter, and have a right to be there.

Currently, there is a window of opportunity for something fundamentally different in the pursuit of lasting, pragmatic peace. The discourse of erasure, the extremist attempt to push Palestinians out of their ancestral homeland, the acceptance of settler violence, and the abhorrent rhetoric against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank must give way to a different approach that capitalizes on the opportunities ahead.

Hamas is weak, the Palestinian Authority is struggling with legitimacy, and many Palestinians – even if they don’t express it publicly – are, for the first time, questioning everything they have been told for generations about the cause or the usefulness of “resistance.”

While Israel’s trauma remains great from October 7, the return of the hostages, the geopolitical changes, and the weakening of the Iranian-led “ring of fire” have put Israel in the strongest position it has ever been, with a massively supportive friend in the White House.

Change in the Palestinian street will come from a new class of non-partisan, politically unaffiliated people who are so done with the tired rhetoric of the Palestinian national project, Palestinian political groups, dogmas, and useless slogans.

Israel’s actions can empower these moderates – by demonstrating how peace, cooperation, and the renunciation of violence bring real gains and restore dignity to Palestinians.

As much as I am a believer in promoting Palestinian agency, responsibility, and accountability, I do not believe that cultural shifts and change will come about from Palestinian leadership.

Instead, it will emerge from a new, leaderless, organic, non-hierarchical generation that is partly inspired by shifts in Israeli policies, partly motivated by not wanting to repeat the same mistakes, and partly supported by external players who want to free the Palestinians from being their own worst enemies.

Still, Israel, as the stronger party, is ultimately determining whether the current window of opportunity for change is seized upon or squandered.■