March 1, 2016 | Quoted in The Tower
Hamas’ Execution of Commander Accused of Being Gay Underscores Internal Divisions
Hamas’ execution of its own commander last month suggests a widening schism among leaders of the terrorist group as well as a loss of authority in the Gaza Strip.
Mahmoud Ishtiwi, a senior figure in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades who commanded 1,000 men during Hamas’ 2014 war with Israel, was executed on February 7 amid charges of “moral turpitude,” code for homosexuality, The New York Times reported Tuesday. His family had deep ties to Hamas and was considered “royalty” in Gaza for sheltering members of the terrorist group’s leadership, including Mohammed Deif, who was targeted several times by Israel.
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While Ishtiwi’s execution sealed his family’s loss of faith in Hamas, it also reflects a broader division within the terror group, according to an analysis written for Newsweek last week by Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The al-Qassam Brigades, the so-called “armed wing” of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is reeling from the recent execution of former official Mahmoud Ishtiwi at the hands of his fellow fighters. Several members of the Hamas fighting force resigned in protest, arguing that Ishtiwi was killed because of internal arguments within Hamas rather than immoral behavior, as was first reported. The schism has produced a new breakaway faction—the Free Qassam Members (al-Qassamiyoun al-Ahrar) which is openly speaking out against the al-Qassam Brigades leadership and calling for an investigation.
More generally, Schanzer observed, Hamas is suffering from a lack of direction.
Thus, while its founding charter has not changed, Hamas appears to be lacking direction. Its military wing and a gaggle of political leaders in exile are locked in a competition. Add to that the public frustration with the Gaza-based government leadership, and it’s hard to pinpoint which faction or which leader is actually steering the organization.
Schanzer warned that while these divisions mean that Hamas is weakened, that weakness also poses risks to Israel.
But a fractured terrorist organization can also be more unpredictable. Hamas lacks command and control. A single faction could launch a war that the rest of the organization does not want—and one that Israel or Western intelligence might be less likely to predict.
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Read the full article here.