What is Hamas and why is it attacking Israel now?
Hamas had delivered “a blow to Israel beyond what it is used to,” and was also putting its capabilities on display, said Omar Rahman, a fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs who focuses on Palestinian affairs. Its shock tactics are a declaration that it “must be taken more seriously.”
In Foreign Policy: Over the Years, Netanyahu Led Failed Security Strategy on Gaza
“Over the years, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] led a failed and misleading security concept,” said Sher. “He preferred … the status quo over in-depth political solutions—even transitional or interim—in the West Bank and Gaza. His policy attempted to nearly topple the PA [Palestinian Authority] and strengthen Hamas while fostering Hamas’s sense of impunity and capability.”
In Doha News: Qatar Faces Difficulties in Mediating Between Israel and Hamas
“The serious escalation by Hamas means it may be difficult for Doha to leverage the relationships it has built in Gaza while the fighting continues, although we saw back in 2014 how Qatari officials coordinated closely with Turkish and US counterparts to keep open channels of communication that eventually helped facilitate an end to that round of fighting, but this time might be more challenging, given the scale and intensity of what has happened,” said Coates Ulrichsen.
On ABC News: The Foreign Policy Impact of Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack on Israel
In an interview with ABC News, Djerejian discussed the key causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its implications for the Middle East.
On Bloomberg: Oct. 7 Attack Shows Failure of Israel’s Deterrence Policy
“That deterrence policy has failed in my eyes, with equal consequences to the intelligence failure of not foreseeing [the Oct. 7] attack,” said Djerejian. “So that deterrence policy is what’s going to be the end game here after all the bloodshed and the military operations. Are we going back to the status quo ante? I doubt it.”