Al-Aqas Flood Operation to 'Act as A Brake on Normalization': American Expert
Hamas resistance movement launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The attack, named Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, involved a ground and air assault on the Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip, as well as a massive rocket barrage on the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, and others. Analysts believe the attack dealt a huge blow to the Israeli regime and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The operation shocked the security and military apparatus of the regime, which failed to anticipate or prevent it. The attack must have required weeks and months of planning and preparation by Hamas.
Palestinian resistance fighters announced that the operation was a response to years of oppression, occupation, and desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli regime and its illegal settlers.
To further discuss the situation in the conflict zone, IQNA has reached out to George Bisharat, an American professor of law from University of California Law San Francisco.
“By demonstrating the persistent solidarity with the Palestinians of what is often called “the Arab street” - in other words, the Arab peoples, as opposed to their rulers - the attacks will act on a brake on normalization with Arab countries,” he said when asked about the operation’s effect on normalization between the Israeli regime and some Arab states.
Here is the full text of the interview:
IQNA: The recent operations in the occupied Palestinian territories showed above all the intelligence and military failure of the Zionist regime. What is your opinion on this?
Bisharat: There are, perhaps, two factors that explain Israel’s intelligence and military failure in responding to the attacks launched on Saturday. The first is a long term tendency toward the buildup of arrogance over time, when a power accustomed to impunity for its violent domination of another people begins to assume that what has been will always be.
Of course, oppressed peoples always rise up, but somehow oppressors never learn this lesson. The second is the disarray within Israel itself of the last year, during which the extreme right wing’s attempts at judicial reform have sparked deep divisions, which are political in the first place but also have military and security consequences.
IQNA: Can this operation be the beginning of a comprehensive battle in the region against the Israeli regime?
Bisharat: The current hostilities could spread to some extent to the West Bank, and today we have seen a brief exchange of fire in the disputed Shebaa Farms along the Lebanese-Israeli border, but otherwise I do not expect the fighting to spread much further.
I suspect that the secrecy that Hamas had to have maintained to preserve the element of surprise would have also discouraged coordination with other regional forces, such as Hezbollah. These other forces may be reluctant to be drawn into conflict when they are not prepared to do so. But in these relatively early hours, it is hard to predict anything with great confidence.
IQNA: How do you see the coordination and unity of the resistance groups in this battle?
Bisharat: We will learn more in the coming days, but it appears that the assault was launched with tight coordination between at least Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and possibly other groups as well. Hamas and PIJ are not always in alignment in confrontations with Israel - indeed, in recent years Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have focused more on PIJ, while Hamas has often reined in its forces. But the scale and sophistication of this operation suggest lengthy planning and preparation.
IQNA: What effect do you think these attacks have on the process of normalization of ties between Israel and Arab states?
Bisharat: By demonstrating the persistent solidarity with the Palestinians of what is often called “the Arab street” - in other words, the Arab peoples, as opposed to their rulers - the attacks will act on a brake on normalization with Arab countries.
It will be more difficult for the Abraham Accords countries to continue with normalization measures in light of popular sentiments against them, and more difficult for new countries to join the normalization train.
Specifically, on the Saudi track, it will also disincline the Israeli government to make the kind of concessions to the Palestinians that Saudis have reportedly been demanding. However, Arab rulers have never been all that responsive to the needs and aspirations of their peoples, so the fact of popular support for Palestine is only one factor in the equation.
IQNA: In your opinion, how likely is the presence of other resistance groups to participate in this operation?
Bisharat: The resistance groups that do not appear to have engaged yet in the fighting are those associated with secular nationalist parties such as Fatah and the PFLP. While individual members of those groups may well be inspired by the early success of the Hamas-led operation to join in, it is unlikely that the Fatah leadership, which is in political competition with Hamas, will decide to unleash its fighters.
But over the last few years we have witnessed the phenomenon of young Palestinians, such as the Lion’s Den in Nablus, fighting Israeli forces without authorization from any political party or group. So it is possible that individuals or small, loosely organized groups like Lion’s Den will jump into action. This would extend the battle to the West Bank, where these young men have been active over the last few years.
IQNA: Some believe that internal tensions in Israel have played an important role in the success of this operation so far. How true is this opinion?
Bisharat: One could easily envision a future Israeli commission of inquiry into this question and into the broader issue of Israel’s intelligence failures and poor initial military response. As indicated above, the political divisions within Israel today were at least a distraction, and the refusals of some reservists to show up for duty may well have degraded the military’s operational capabilities. But details of this will only be known over time.
IQNA: Where do you see Netanyahu's political future after this operation?
Bisharat: Netanyahu’s calling card has always been security: he has always sold himself as the politician best qualified to guarantee safety to the Israeli people. He is also a driving force behind the highly divisive judicial reform plan, in which many believe his motivation is to escape prosecution for corruption.
There is no doubt that his prestige will suffer greatly under any circumstances, in light of this historic defeat. But if it becomes clear that the struggle over judicial reform has contributed to the weaknesses that have been exposed through the attack, and the reform was driven by Netanyahu’s narrow personal interests, this could spell the end of his famously long political career.
Interview by Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi
George Bisharat (born 1954) is an American professor of law and a frequent commentator on current events in the Middle East, and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in particular. He earned his B.A. in anthropology from UC-Berkeley in California and his M.A. in history from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, before going on to graduate cum laude from Harvard Law School. In 1987, he earned a PhD in Anthropology and Middle East Studies from Harvard University. He joined the UC Law SF faculty in 1991. He wrote a book about Palestinian lawyers working under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the view of the International Quran News Agency.
