With reports now being published that Former Hamas Communications Minister Yusuf al-Manasi has turned on Hamas leadership in Gaza during his Shin Bet interrogation, observers are wondering if this is a one-off or the beginning of a trend.
Gazan politics, like those of the Arabs in Judea and Samaria have never been monolithic. The so-called “palestinian” national movement, which always seems more like the rise of the mafia rather than state building, has been an amalgamation of local warlords, clans, and foreign actors trying their best to work together for the shared goal of wiping out the Jewish State – either all at once or piece by piece.
So it comes at no surprise that Yusuf al-Manasi would turn on Sinwar and Deif, especially if it would mean the chance to save his own neck. After all, the Gazans never believed that Israel would invade the strip the way they have and if the current war is any indication, guys like al-Manasi have no where to go if he is ever released. Back in Gaza, his Hamas association would get him killed by fed-up Arabs and in Israel if he is not executed he would rot for the rest of his life in jail. So turning on the Hamas leadership is the likeliest path for a guy like al-Manasi, who wants to find a way to live.
It is also fair to assume that al-Manasi is not the only one. There has always been a fissure between the financially flush Hamas leadership and those underneath them. Qatari and Iranian funds have gone to the pockets of Sinwar, Deif, and the others and like any mafia – they dictate who gets what below them. This is very similar to the racket that is being managed by Abbas and his cronies in Ramallah.
The main difference between the Hamas and Ramallah mafias and the classic western style crime rackets is that the Arab versions have at their foundation an Islamic-Nazi ideology that drives the masses into a type of barbarism not seen in generations.
The positive results from the interrogations may help the IDF finish the war, leading to the death of Siwar, Deif and others, but by no means should it lead to installing one of the now dissatisfied “former” Hamas operatives into power in Gaza. Only Israel should be in control of Gaza and it should remain as such forever.