Hamas' progress in the West Bank

The desperate defense of the third shrine of Islam and the guerrilla operations of the Palestinians have shown that from now on the West Bank has regained its status as the main front in the fight against Zionism. The third intifada is just around the corner, which means that leading Palestinian organizations are preparing tactics to fight the “occupation regime".

The leading Palestinian party, Hamas, has already made tremendous progress. The victory of the student bloc in the elections at Birzeit University, the flag of the movement in the hands of supporters of the organization at the entrance to Al-Aqsa during the period of active protection of the Palestinians of the third shrine of Islam from Zionist terrorists and the appearance of branches of the al-Qassam Brigade in Jenin, shows how the influence of Hamas has expanded in the West Bank. As examples of the expansion of the influence of the Islamic Resistance Movement, one can point to the march of Palestinians in the courtyards of the al-Aqsa Mosque at the end of April, when, according to local sources, the number of activists was about 150,000, as for the elections, the Wafa Islamic Bloc won 28 seats there, which is ten seats more than the closest persecutor in the person of the Pro-FATAH bloc. The expected rise of Hamas was the result of the steadfastness of the Gaza Strip, readiness for a political struggle with opponents from PA and the active promotion of the idea of the need for armed resistance to the occupiers.

According to my observations, the Hamas electorate in the West Bank is divided into two categories, the first is those who believe that, since Hamas is the leading organization, they should be supported, because it does not matter who leads the resistance, it is much more important to organize an intifada and crush the Zionist entity. The latter are supporters of the most diverse Islamic ideologies of the region, who also proceed from the pluralism of the madhhabs (for example, Shiites, Sunnis with a certain worldview and Salafists), who see in the support of Hamas a kind of “protection” of their beliefs, but are ready to actively follow the main organization of the Palestinian resistance. Here we can draw an analogy with BADR in Iraq, which at the moment has become a platform for various Shiite political forces.

In any case, the success of Hamas in the West Bank will have a positive impact on the dynamics of Palestinian resistance and the consolidation of society. The fact is that despite internal obstacles in the face of the so-called “Palestinian Authority”, the Hamas branch in the holy al-Aqsa district, in addition to successes in the domestic arena, boasts of its allies, for example, ideological brothers from the Jordanian Islamic Action Front party and pro-Iranian fractions in Syria.

Hamas' tactical shift in favor of a broad confrontation with the occupiers occurred after a series of meetings and consultations with the IRGC and Hezbollah at the turn of 2018-2020. At that time, it was decided to create an auxiliary military force from among the Palestinian refugees of Lebanon, which, under the command of Hezbollah, could open a second front against the vile entity. The late hero Suleimani played an active role in the expansion of the anti-Zionist front.

Hezbollah and the IRGC continue to prepare thousands of Palestinians for the final battles, Hamas has already become the vanguard of the Palestinian resistance, being present in three directions (Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon), and while the enemy is trying in every way to disrupt the rise of Hamas, other old enemies of Zionism are preparing a surprise for the occupation by creating their own route from Syria. And again, the IRGC is on top.