< Más Articulos : What keeps Hamas in power (Times of Israel - Aug 4 2025)
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What keeps Hamas in power (Times of Israel - Aug 4 2025)
Terror at Home
Hamas doesn’t rule Gaza by consent. It rules by fear. Since seizing power in 2007, its playbook has been simple: kill your rivals, silence dissent, and terrorize the rest. In Gaza, speaking out can mean prison, torture, or a bullet. Ordinary people are paraded as suffering victims to earn global pity. Refuse to play along, and you risk your life.
The Money Trail
Hamas survives because it satisfies its sponsors. As I wrote in The Arab Underdog, radical Islamist regimes have mastered the art of perception: Israel cast as the bully, Palestinians as the underdog. This myth did not spread on its own. It was bankrolled, by Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and others. They don’t just fund Hamas. They finance a global movement that sells “Free Palestine” while concealing Hamas’s crimes.
Guns and Tunnels
Hamas doesn’t just receive cash, it receives weapons. For years, Iran has armed not only Hamas but also Hezbollah and the Houthis, creating proxy militias meant to challenge Israel’s army. They avoid open battle, instead relying on guerrilla tactics, suicide drones, and rockets. Beneath Gaza lies a vast fortress of tunnels: storage depots, command centers, and launch pads, all funded and supplied from abroad.
The Long Arm of Tehran
At the heart of Hamas’s survival is Iran. Tehran provides money, weapons, training, and diplomatic cover. With this backing, Hamas can defy Israel, brutalize its own people, and still present itself as a resistance movement. Without Iran and its allies, Hamas would be just another gang of thugs. With them, it is a regional menace.
International Reach
Hamas has managed to penetrate foreign policy circles across the world. Considering it is a terrorist organization, it is hard to understand why so many cheer for them. Some are simply ignorant, blindly following the crowd. That I can understand. What I cannot comprehend is how intelligent individuals, fully aware of the facts, still choose to support Hamas. Unless, of course, something else drives them. And I strongly believe it does.
Money from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and others invested in Israel’s downfall is what motivates many of these individuals. They appear in high government offices, respected institutions, the media, and academia. In short, they occupy influential positions where their support for Hamas carries real consequences.
The Hostages and the Palestinian Population
By now, the Israeli army would have had the capability to wipe out Hamas militarily. The obstacle is that Hamas hides behind the Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, and behind Gaza’s civilian population. Israel is effectively tied down: it cannot and will not risk the lives of the hostages or the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians whom Hamas uses as human shields.
Conclusion
Hamas’s grip on Gaza is not rooted in popular support but in terror, foreign sponsorship, and the calculated manipulation of global opinion. It thrives because it has mastered fear at home, secured steady financing and weapons from abroad, and infiltrated influential institutions worldwide. As long as Iran and its allies bankroll and arm Hamas, the cycle of violence and suffering will persist, both for Israelis under constant threat and for Gazans trapped under a regime that exploits them as pawns.
The international community must stop treating Hamas as a legitimate political actor and start recognizing it for what it is: a terrorist organization propped up by foreign interests that profit from chaos. Cutting off its funding, dismantling its propaganda networks, and holding accountable those who enable it are not only strategic necessities but also moral imperatives. Only then can the people of Gaza hope for leadership that values their lives more than their usefulness in a cynical war of perception.
Times of Israel - Aug 4 2025
( Por: Yehudi Sabbagh , 04/08/2025 )
