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Last update - 09:26 31/12/2008
ANALYSIS / Hamas racks up its first diplomatic victory in Gaza campaign
By Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Hamas, Gaza, Israel 

President Hosni Mubarak could not keep silent any longer about the attack on Egypt in the press. His decision to explicitly state Egypt's position that the West Bank and Gaza are part of the same country, and that the Rafah crossing will open only under the conditions of the 2005 agreement (to which Egypt is not a signatory), is part of the public diplomacy Mubarak has been dragged into against his will.

Mubarak would have preferred for Hamas to appeal to him directly for a cease-fire, which Egypt would negotiate with Israel. But Hamas, like Hezbollah, chose a different and probably more effective path.

Hamas, by enlisting public opinion through the Arab media, holding street demonstrations and creating public pressure, may very well achieve a cease-fire without being forced to ask for it.
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Hamas has experience in winning public support, as it learned last January when it broke through the border fence with Egypt. Egypt was forced to give in to public pressure and let the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians cross the border and buy goods on the Egyptian side.

The knowledge that Arab public opinion, as opposed to the Arab regimes that speak with several different voices, may influence policy is new.

In a region known for not paying attention to public opinion, or where public opinion is dictated by the regimes, an appeal to the masses has usually been viewed as an act of desperation, not policy.

Hamas can rack up its first victory for its methods as several European countries are already talking about a "humanitarian" cease-fire, and Egypt has been fixed in the public eye as a collaborator with Israel. This will make it hard for Egypt to act as a mediator between Hamas and Israel, and the war in Gaza will require international involvement and certainly active Syrian involvement to end the hostilities.

In that way Gaza goes from being a local dispute between Israel and Hamas to the status of half a state with the same status as Israel, so hopes Hamas.

Such a step could never have come off through regular diplomatic channels, where Hamas would have appealed to Egypt or some other mediator, but only by enlisting the masses in the region and by bypassing the Palestinian Authority, which is not functioning during this crisis.

Mubarak's efforts in his speech on Tuesday to relink the West Bank and Gaza and place Gaza again under the PA's authority says something about the diplomatic battlefield. A separate cease-fire with Gaza under Arab and international pressure may be interpreted as a recognition of the separation between Gaza and the West Bank - and recognition of the Hamas government. This will place Gaza under the diplomatic auspices of Iran and Syria, on the border with Egypt.

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      1.   Gaza propaganda war 05:01  |  Sumner Stone 31/12/08
      2.   ZVI, BROTHER, NOW I`M`VE RELIEVED MYSELF 05:13  |  indrajaya 31/12/08
      3.   THERE IS A SOLUTION 07:09  |  JAMES RAIDER 31/12/08
      4.   Hamas racks 07:16  |  Javed 31/12/08
      5.   Its time Egypt went in to Gaza 08:08  |  Jane 31/12/08
      6.   Israel, U.S. and Arab rulers = Hamas "best friends" in this world 09:53  |  Swiss (Dino) 31/12/08
      7.   A repetition of second lebanon war as symptom for loss of reality 10:10  |  Fritz T. 31/12/08
      8.   #5 Jane 10:13  |  Brian 31/12/08
      9.   It doesn`t matter 10:13  |  Mark Lincoln 31/12/08
      10.   THIS is the biggest danger Israel faces 10:54  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      11.   Clickfool`s contradictions..... 11:33  |  The Judge 31/12/08
      12.   A Smokescreen? 11:36  |  Augusto de Cartagena 31/12/08
      13.   Hamas wins battle for pub opinion, full stop 11:37  |  Susie 31/12/08
      14.   Win the battle, lose the war! 11:38  |  Manny Goldstein 31/12/08
      15.   no 8... clickfool 11:39  |  ravi 31/12/08
      16.   Deja vu - Lebanon 2006 11:50  |  www.kibush.co.il 31/12/08
      17.   This is the future Israel faces, Judge # 11 11:51  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      18.   Public Opinion in Arab World???????????? 11:51  |  inisrael 31/12/08
      19.   Diplomatic Success ? Ha 11:58  |  Jacob 31/12/08
      20.   Don`t blink. 12:01  |  Charles Smyth 31/12/08
      21.   This is Hamas`s flaw 12:03  |  ScotGuy 31/12/08
      22.   public opinion 12:20  |  latif mohamad 31/12/08
      23.   Israel should control its decision 12:41  |  Bruce 31/12/08
      24.   Hamas = Persia 12:45  |  Jeff 31/12/08
      25.   Hamas = Perisa #2 12:50  |  Jeff 31/12/08
      26.   Fritz T: "Everybody can see that Hamas is nice" 13:02  |  Freethinker 31/12/08
      27.   Hamas is winning the battle for world, not just Arab, opinion 13:08  |  Michael 31/12/08
      28.   general opinion in Europe 14:11  |  Gerald D 31/12/08
      29.   No country in Middle East gives humanitarian aid or human rights 14:15  |  Genuine Tosefta 31/12/08
      30.   Clickfool #17 "This is the future Israel faces..." 15:05  |  S 31/12/08
      31.   For Genuine Tosefta, in his alternative universe # 29 15:17  |  Clickfool 31/12/08
      32.   PA irrelevant as well 15:25  |  peter 31/12/08
      33.   TIME TO MAKE GAZA DMZ 16:30  |  B 31/12/08
      34.   #31 - clickfool 17:08  |  MichaelF 31/12/08
      35.   More hot air in this forum 17:27  |  Star of David 31/12/08
      36.   Mitigating Bad PR 17:29  |  Mark of Lewiston 31/12/08
      37.   A question, please 17:36  |  David R. Zukerman 31/12/08
      38.   " Israel is poised for the latest act in a long history of tragic 17:41  |  Samar 31/12/08
      39.   Arab public opinion 17:44  |  JB 31/12/08
      40.   # 16 18:31  |  azad 31/12/08
      41.   Democracy in the Arab world= End of Israel 18:49  |  George 31/12/08
      42.   #41 George False 19:37  |  utagawa 31/12/08
      43.   Propaganda war 20:34  |  Stranged 31/12/08
      44.   Gaza War 22:46  |  P. J. Casey 31/12/08
      45.   Hamas are elected leaders of Palestine as a whole 22:47  |  ID 31/12/08
      46.   Its is not about enlisting the masses 00:04  |  JML_Paris 01/01/09
      47.   #45 - Yeah, actually, that`s not true. 00:20  |  JP 01/01/09
      48.   P.R.??? IDF Cluster bombs in Leb. are STILL killing Civilians 02:11  |  Gray 01/01/09
      49.   Bravo 03:29  |  David R. Zukerman 01/01/09
      50.   To George from dallas 03:41  |  ilene 01/01/09
      51.   Arab Opinion 05:25  |  Emad 01/01/09
      52.   The world is not fooled 14:57  |  Motic 01/01/09
      53.   Have they forgotten? 14:59  |  Joe 01/01/09
     Read & React
    IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive
    Responses: 97
    Ari Shavit: Israelis who blame Israel are not helping Palestinians
    Responses: 94
    Roi Ben-Yehuda: Pro-Israel camp would be wise to heed Muslim cries for peace
    Responses: 39
    Israel Harel: Like it did in Lebanon, Israel blinked first in Gaza
    Responses: 41
    Poll: Majority of Israelis support continuing military operations in Gaza
    Responses: 36
    Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near
    Responses: 70


    More Headlines
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    23:24 Not just air strikes: Israel takes the fight to Arab media
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    15:02 Israelis who blame Israel are not helping the Palestinians
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    13:57 AMIRA HASS / Thousands of Gazans near Rafah displaced by IAF bombing of tunnels
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