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Conflict at the Core: Examining Hamas and Israel’s Vast Ideological Differences
November 2023: An Israeli soldier helps to provide incubators to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot
To understand the ideological differences between Hamas and Israel, we need to delve into their historic mindsets and their fundamental principles.
The Right Honourable Ernest Bevin, British Foreign Secretary during the period leading up to the United Nations Partition Plan for the land that eventually became Israel, captured these differences succinctly in a speech to the House of Commons on October 31, 1947. Bevin noted: “The Arabs and Jews have different principles, and they want different things. I do not see how they can both be satisfied with a single state.”
Bevin perceived that the Jewish community in Palestine sought to establish a Jewish state, with a focus on self-determination, sovereignty, and the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people. Simply put, the Jews wanted a State — of any size — in their ancestral homeland. And as we soon saw, the Jewish population was willing to live side by side with their Arab neighbors.
Conversely, Bevin understood that the Arab population in Palestine wished to maintain Arab control and dominance over all the territory, rejecting in every aspect, the establishment of a Jewish state. Simply put, the Arab population at the time wanted to prevent the Jews from having their own state, even one as “small as a postage stamp” — a familiar saying among Arab leaders at the time.
Unfortunately today, much of that dynamic remains unchanged. Israel has offered — and worked — to help create a Palestinian state numerous times — only to be met with constant rejection and terrorism in response. One side has been productive, and far too many leaders on the Palestinian side have been destructive. Israel, for example, completely withdrew from Gaza in 2005, leaving greenhouses, a vibrant beachfront, and other elements that were ready to pave the way for a Palestinian state. Israel had a desire to share and to build. Hamas, unfortunately, only had a desire to deny and destroy.
This dichotomy is evident in the personal story of Gadi, an Israeli peacenik, and his Palestinian pen pal, Ahmad. For years, Gadi engaged in hopeful exchanges with Ahmad, envisioning a world where petty differences could be transcended. However, the events of October 7, 2023, shattered this illusion. Gadi’s plea for sympathy was met with cold justification from Ahmad, who bluntly stated that “From The River To The Sea” meant the end of the State of Israel. The brutal reality of October 7 underscores the ideological chasm between many on the two sides. Hamas’ actions, which are supported by a majority of Gazan civilians, reveal a steadfast commitment to that eliminationist goal. While the Jews have built a thriving, productive, sovereign state, Hamas has constructed an underground fortress dedicated to violence and destruction.
While it is tempting to label Hamas as “evil,” it is far more imperative to understand the sophistication of their tactics and strategic thinking. Hamas’ actions on October 7 were meticulously planned to puncture Israel’s defenses, incite global sympathy for Palestinians, and isolate Israel from the world community. In this regard — hopefully, for the short term — they have done remarkably well. Calls for Israel to explain its legitimacy are absurd, and betray a thinly veiled animus toward the Jewish people as a whole. Israel’s right to exist derives not from UN resolutions (though it has those also), but on its historical, cultural, and sovereign ties to the land, documented for centuries.
My concern over these last nine months has to do with the protection of seven million of my brothers and sisters living in Israel. It would not be different if a pogrom had been launched against them in Warsaw, Montreal, Minneapolis, or Paris. It is time, right now, to free all of the kidnapped victims from the warrens of Gaza and bring them home. It is time to utterly destroy Hamas and their ilk. It is time to stand against the Iranian regime, and urge a different future for that country. It is time to create a real peace, a true peace. May it be so. Speedily in our days.
Peter Himmelman, a Grammy and Emmy nominated rock and roll performer, songwriter, and film composer, is releasing his new book, Suspended by No String (Regalo Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster) on August 13. It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.
The post Conflict at the Core: Examining Hamas and Israel’s Vast Ideological Differences first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.