The general saw the horror of the attack on Hamas
Associated Palestinians and Israeli Police: Behind Hamas’s Bloody Gambit to Create a ‘Permanent State of War’
Some of the groups had signed accords with Israel in a bid to forge a path to a two-state solution. The Palestinian Authority, envisioned as a Palestinian government in waiting, had limited authority over parts of the West Bank and remained officially committed to negotiating an end to the conflict.
Hamas, meanwhile, effectively sought to undo history, starting with 1948, when more than 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes in what would become Israel during the war surrounding the foundation of the Jewish state.
Violence continued to break out. Hamas launched a war to protest the eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the Israeli police raids of the Aqsa Mosque.
Mr. Sinwar was more connected to the leaders of the military wing, including Mr. Deif, as he became the armed wing’s representative to Hamas’s political leadership. The two men were at the center of the attack.
Golan vs. Hamas: Towards the end of the siege: When the Israelis came to the Gaza crisis
“I am not saying I won’t fight anymore,” he said. I am saying I don’t want war anymore. I want the end of the siege. At sundown, you walk to the beach and see a bunch of teenagers on the shore talking and wondering what the world looks like. He said what life looks like. “I want them free.”
In 2017, Hamas issued a political program that allowed for a two state solution, but did not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
To bring in more money into Gaza, Israel gave some concessions, increasing the number of visas for Gazans to work inside of Israel and allowing Qatar to give $30 million a month in aid to Gaza.
“The Israelis were only concerned with one thing: How do I get rid of the Palestinian cause?” Mr. Hamdan said so. “They were heading in that direction and not even thinking about the Palestinians. It could have taken place if the Palestinians had resisted.
According to people briefed on the assessments, the Israeli military and the National Security Council thought that Hamas wanted to avoid another war.
Many in Israel’s security establishment also came to believe that its complex border defenses to shoot down rockets and prevent infiltrations from Gaza were enough to keep Hamas contained.
According to Western analysts, Hamas has 20,000 to 40,000 fighters with between 15,000 and 20,000 rockets, most likely smuggled in through Egypt. The group had mortars, anti-tank missiles and portable air-defense systems as well, they said.
The ties between Iran and Hamas had deteriorated in 2012 when the group decided to close its office in Syria, a close ally of Iran.
What happened? When he learned of the attack on Israel, Golan went down to the area around the Nova music festival to see if he could help.
Now, a month later, he tells NPR the message he wants to spread is one of optimism: “We need to concentrate right now not on revenge but on building — rebuilding our nation.”
Isra”asgaza music festival war: Where’d you go? Where are you? Where did you come from? What have you learned from your life?
It wasn’t much riskier than other things that I did in my life. I fought a lot. I questioned many people who fought terrorists in the kibbutzim in the villages and towns. I can tell you that if you look for bravery, talk to them, not to me.
You think about every word, because if you give advice that could be lethal, well, you’re going to take it with you for the rest of your life. It’s a very cautious discussion for me.
What we need to do in our nation: Building a nation, not on sorrow, and doing what we can do to make sure that we are going to normal
Well, we need to live, and we need to go as soon as possible to normality. I learned it from my father. My father escaped Germany when he was 5 years old, and his family was executed by the Nazis, even though my father had been born in Germany. And he told me all the time, we are going to concentrate on building, not on sorrow, not on, you know, all kinds of negative feelings. We must be optimistic. I believe that this is a lesson I will learn in my adult life. It’s not just we need to be optimistic. We need to build this optimism. We need to work hard in order to convince ourselves and others that we could do something really, really good. And, you know, I look at the Israeli nation. We did a great job. We need to concentrate right now not on revenge but on building — rebuilding our nation. This is a political goal.
