But Hamas wants something more, even if it isn’t saying so now, or has temporarily forgotten: It wants to remain the ruling power in Gaza. In fact, more than just Hamas’s desire, it’s a necessity if it is to continue being a high-value client of Iran.

Hamas has never been able to offer Gazans improvements to their lives or political situation, because Israel has held firm on refusal to co-operate so long as Hamas keeps to its total rejectionism. The single thing it has held out for them was “Endure all the misery and suffering our fight brings you now, and eventually our methods will win you everything.” Western pundits and Hamas sympathisers put a low estimate on Palestinian intelligence if they think Gazans will come out of this more pro-Hamas than they were before. Hamas may still be standing today, but the people of Gaza will wake tomorrow or the day after and understand that Hamas has given them nothing, that all the destruction and death wrought by Hamas’s ideology and tactics have been pointless. If Israel continues to stand fast, in the end Hamas will either have to change its ideology and methods — which I doubt it can — or return to being just another local terrorist band, whilst the Gazans find someone else to represent them. Whether that would be a potential peace-maker, or someone who tries to out-Hamas Hamas, is the real gamble now.

For Israel to have removed Hamas from Gaza and reintroduced the PA (meaning Fatah) would have been a recipe for failure. But now the Gazans will have to choose the way forward for themselves and there’s a chance they will choose to tiptoe toward peace — the best chance since September 2005, at least.

End the occupation! haha