Hamas-Aktivisten sind offenbar eifrig dabei, gemeinsam mit ägyptischen Sicherheitskräften die Grenzsperren zwischen Gaza und Ägypten wieder aufzurichten. Bald werden die Hamas Führung und ihre Geiseln wieder hinter Schloss und Riegel sitzen und womöglich von Fatah-Leuten beim Grenzübergang kontrolliert werden. Haben sich die Islamisten mal wieder voll verkalkuliert? So jedenfalls sieht das Barry Rubin:

IN REALITY, there are two major problems with the Hamas strategy. From a pragmatic standpoint, Hamas’s radicalism does prevent the creation of a Palestinian state and a peace that would benefit Palestinians. Its strategy of the permanent offensive guarantees not only suffering, but also failure.

Even from a radical perspective, Hamas’s policy of the permanent offensive is a big mistake. It would have been better advised to pretend moderation, make a deal with at least Fatah or perhaps even Israel, and then break it in a bid for total victory. If it opted for quiet, Hamas could build up Gaza’s economy and social institutions, training a future generation for all-out war. But it also rejects this wisely cynical approach.

Yasser Arafat, of course, made the same error.

So while Hamas will never give up, it also will never win. To portray its latest antics as some kind of success is simply wrong. They are a disaster, and to understand this reality is to comprehend the central blunder plaguing the Palestinian movement since its inception.