Acknowledging Military Defeat is Better than Stubbornness and Denial

Everything that has been happening since Trump proposed his initiative on October 10th and Hamas's acceptance and signing of it in Sharm El Sheikh, confirms that things are going in Israel's favor, and that Hamas has been defeated and lost this round of the war. Its signing and acceptance of the initiative was akin to signing a surrender document, even if it tried to portray it differently.

Although it is a defeat for a party and a political movement that acted unilaterally and does not represent the people, its repercussions have reflected on the people and the entire cause; as the Palestinians lost their independent national decision, and now Trump and Netanyahu control the fate of the cause, at least in this era.

In order to prevent this military defeat from becoming a defeat for the people and the cause, it is necessary to acknowledge it and stop the provocative statements from Hamas leaders about "Israel's defeat" and that "the flood achieved its goals"; as we do not know what goals were achieved other than the reoccupation of the sector, its destruction, starving its residents, and the loss of around a quarter of a million people, whether dead, missing, injured, or prisoners! Some leaders have even had the audacity to claim that the movement forced Israel to open the Rafah crossing, as if the crossing was closed before their dubious flood, disregarding the restrictions and conditions that Israel set in exchange for opening it.

The continued talk by Hamas about victories, despite its acceptance of the initiative and the statement from its spokesperson in the sector that the movement is prepared to hand over authority to the Gaza administration committee – contradicting the practices on the ground – does not only reflect a state of confusion and turmoil, but it also serves as an invitation for Israel to continue its aggression until it completes its goals in the sector, the West Bank, and the region; which reinforces doubts about the flood operation and Hamas's role in what has happened to the cause.

While we are fearful of events getting out of the hands of the Palestinians, it is still possible to minimize the losses by Hamas acknowledging its defeat, without further stubbornness and manipulation of statements that have become unconvincing and no one believes them.