Palestinians, Not Israelis, Should Topple Hamas - by Khaled Abu Toameh
“…Getting rid of the repressive Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip would be good for most Palestinians as well as Israelis.
But it should not be Israel’s job alone to overthrow Hamas. Rather, it Is the Palestinians who need to wake up and realize that Hamas is actually causing them huge damage. They need to see that Hamas has brought them nothing but bloodshed, violence and poverty.
Following the recent spate of terror attacks from the Gaza Strip, some Israelis called on the Israel Defense Forces to do its utmost to remove Hamas from power.
Undoubtedly, the IDF has enough power and determination to go into the Gaza Strip and wipe out Hamas. But the price for such a military offensive would be high for Israel: it would claim the lives of many soldiers and civilians and draw international condemnations.
Israel could also find itself once again sinking in the quagmire of the Gaza Strip. The removal of the Hamas regime from power would mean that someone would have to fill the vacuum – in this case, Israel seems to be the only party capable of doing so.
No other party is ready at this stage to take over the Gaza Strip – not even the weak and discredited Fatah faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has the right to continue defending itself against rockets, missiles and other terror attacks. The best way to do this is by directly targeting the masterminds and the terrorists themselves…”