Israel drove suitcases stuffed with cash into Gaza to keep Hamas in power

Silverseren@kbin.social to World News@lemmy.world – 940 points –
Israel drove suitcases stuffed with cash into Gaza to keep Hamas in power: NYT
businessinsider.com

Israeli officials are facing backlash after years of Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu quietly allowing Hamas to remain in power.

But reporting in the New York Times has revealed that Netanyahu's government was more hands-on about helping Hamas: they helped a Qatari diplomat bring suitcases of cash into Gaza, indirectly boosting the militant organization, according to the report.

The calculus — the Times reported on Sunday, citing Israeli officials, Netanyahu's critics, and the man's own reported statements — was to keep Hamas strong enough to counteract the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, allowing Netanyahu to avoid a two-state peace solution and keep both sides weak.

Israeli security officials got it wrong; they didn't think Hamas was capable, or even interested, in launching a large attack against the Jewish state.

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I think its fair to say the blockade didnt work to keep things out of gaza. So other than being a type of effective security theater it seems to have been bad policy on its own terms

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