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"Why does Israel prefer to have an opponent like Hamas, as opposed to Fatah?"

2025-10-21 21:53:01Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"Why does Israel prefer to have an opponent like Hamas, as opposed to
US President Donald Trump with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on October 13, 2025

By Dany Moudallal – L'orient-le Jour

At a time when Hamas is trying not to appear weakened after two years of devastating war in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, seems incapable of reforming, sinking deeper into a crisis of legitimacy and credibility. This comes at a time when the issue of a Palestinian state has never been more at the center of international attention in recent decades, especially in the face of expanding Israeli colonial ambitions in the West Bank.

Who, within the Palestinian national movement, can benefit from the diplomatic victories brought about by the recent waves of recognition of Palestine and advance Palestinian sovereignty? The newspaper “L'Orient-Le Jour” talks to Hussein Ibish, a researcher at the Institute of Arab Gulf States.

How popular is Hamas among Palestinians today? What consequences might this have for domestic politics?

We do not know exactly how popular Hamas is at the moment. However, the movement seems to have gained ground in the West Bank, while losing ground in Gaza. Hamas remains a powerful actor in Palestinian society, where politics is still binary and functions as a zero-sum game. For two decades, Hamas and Fatah have been engaged in a power struggle that will continue until one side triumphs completely or both disappear to make way for a new force that does not yet exist.

The status quo between these two factions is likely to continue. And this is a tragedy, because the Palestinians are without a truly national and effective leadership. Currently, Fatah has an opportunity to consolidate its authority at the expense of Hamas, but it lacks a strong and decisive leadership to achieve this. Hamas will continue to challenge Fatah politically and gain ground, but after the catastrophe it caused in Gaza, a political victory for this Islamist movement is now impossible.

Who can capitalize on the international support for a Palestinian state, which has grown after the war in Gaza?

Only the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) has this ability. It remains the only legitimate institution representing the Palestinians. But it does not seem to be functioning effectively to really benefit from this situation. The PLO needs new, credible leadership – the current one is long overdue. Mahmoud Abbas must step down. The Palestinian national movement is currently hampered by an incompetent leader who seems more content with the role of “mayor of Ramallah” than as leader of the Palestinian people.

For the PLO to lead the necessary reforms, its leaders must either profoundly change their stance or pave the way for a new generation of leaders, who must emerge as soon as possible.

Could Marwan Barghouti represent a renaissance for the Palestinian national movement?

Marwan Barghouti is above all a symbolic figure, widely respected because of the myth built around him during the second intifada. In prison, he has managed to maintain good relations with the Islamists, while remaining a loyal leader to the PLO. But as long as he remains in prison, his role remains purely symbolic.

Israel will never release a figure who could strengthen the secular Palestinian national movement represented by the PLO. The Jewish state prefers to deal with Hamas, even allowing it to grow stronger, because the danger it poses is limited to attacks or kidnappings (as on October 7), without calling into question the continued annexation of the West Bank, which is the main objective of the current Israeli government.

Hamas's project for an Islamic state in the entire territory is unfeasible; it is beneficial for Israel to have such an enemy. Fatah, on the other hand, pursues a much more feasible objective: the creation of a small Palestinian state that will coexist with Israel, an idea widely supported by the international community. And it is precisely this that constitutes the real threat to the Israeli project of annexation. That is why Israel prefers to confront Hamas rather than Fatah.

Any progress towards a Palestinian state also depends on reforms of the Palestinian Authority, mentioned in the Trump plan for Gaza.

How far does American support for these efforts go and what needs to be done?

American policy aims to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, but Israel strongly opposes it, loyal to the goal of annexing the West Bank. The United States is hostage to this Israeli will. Washington must explicitly recognize the right of the Palestinians to a state in the historic Palestinian lands and accompany this recognition with a package of reforms demanded by the Palestinian Authority, in exchange for concrete benefits, to lay the foundations for independent Palestinian sovereignty.

The Israeli government would see this as an existential threat, but it doesn't matter, the world must act on this, just as it created Israel once, despite the opposition of the Palestinian majority at the time.

Elections are also necessary, but parties that do not accept the PLO's international commitments, including Yasser Arafat's 1993 letter of recognition of Israel, should not be allowed to participate. The PLO must remain the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people on the international stage. Any party that will participate in the elections must do so within this framework. This is the best way to deal with Hamas as a political problem and an obstacle to the two-state solution.

Unfortunately, none of this seems possible, because the US is not willing to confront Israel on this front.


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