Hamas official says group would lay down its arms if an independent Palestinian state is established

[sarisataka]

4. Perhaps shell game more than Other, but I believe the offer is mostly honest

in that they will abide a five year ceasefire, though a few rockets may head Israel's way.

I did a bit of research as to why the five-year offer, what would Hamas gain? I have several ideas:

1- PR victory, they stood up to Israel and lived. The blood price others paid will be coopted by Hamas to make them appear the victims.

2- Money (of course)- Aid will be needed, to feed and rebuild the Gaza. A percentage will make its way into Hamas coffers. In addition, by "renouncing" militancy, opportunities will open for direct contributions from sympathetic groups.

3- Power, as the "victors" they will likely be the pre-eminent political group in the future Palestine. Five years should be plenty to solidify their control as absolute rules of not only Gaza but the West Bank

4- Weapons, they will be able to obtain more and better weapons. Likely there will be UN restrictions but those have been shown to be toothless. It is unlikely they could get enough quality weapons to match the IDF but as has been said quantity is a quality of its own.

5- Bodies. This is what occurred to me first, so I checked the demographics of Palestine. The survey is a few years old but there are about 700,000 males in the West Bank and Gaza between the ages of 15 and 24. In addition, there are roughly 280,000 males between the ages of 10 and 14. In five years they would theoretically be able to field nearly a million fighters.

I believe Hamas intends to keep its promise to repeat Al Aqsa Flood. In 2023 they attacked with about 3,000, Al Aqsa flood 2029 will be made with 300,000.