Moreover, Hamas hopes to escalate the confrontation with Israel in order to influence the direction of the popular revolts in the Arab world and direct them to the issue of Palestine. Hamas sees the “Arab Spring” as an enormous opportunity to recruit the Arab masses against the pragmatic Arab regimes in order to force them to adopt a more anti-Israel policy. The operation in southern Israel sets the stage for a broad-based military escalation in Gaza during the month of Ramadan that could create shockwaves across the Arab world, where leaders are already having a difficult time dealing with the popular revolts of recent months.
This Hamas policy replicates that of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent organization of Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood stresses the need to exploit the “Arab Spring” for mobilizing the masses to overthrow the Arab regimes as the first step towards liberating Palestine. After the fall of Mubarak, coordination between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood has grown. Khaled Mashaal, the head of the Hamas political bureau, was just in Cairo meeting with
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