Hamas Doesn’t Have Much To Lose

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In The Media

Hamas Doesn’t Have Much To Lose

Engagements with Israel have a contradictory effect of bolstering the credibility of Hamas.

By Michele Dunne

Published on Jul 11, 2014

Source: CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper

“Unfortunately we’re still in an escalating phase of this [conflict], but at some point there will be room for mediation,” said Carnegie’s Michele Dunne on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper. She explained that Gazans have not been served well by Hamas governance since 2007 and in public opinion polls, the popularity of Hamas within Gaza itself has fallen sharply.

These engagements with Israel have a contradictory effect of bolstering the credibility of Hamas, Dunne added, and Hamas’s actions have been very desperate. Hamas really doesn’t have much to lose and they hope that by fighting with Israel, they’ll actually become more popular and have more of a role, she concluded.

The interview was originally aired on NPR’s The Lead with Jake Tapper.

About the Author

Michele Dunne

Former Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Program

Michele Dunne was a nonresident scholar in Carnegie’s Middle East Program, where her research focused on political and economic change in Arab countries, particularly Egypt, as well as U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Recent Work

Research
Islamic Institutions in Arab States: Mapping the Dynamics of Control, Co-option, and Contention
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Research
From Hardware to Holism: Rebalancing America’s Security Engagement With Arab States
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Political Reform Security Military Foreign Policy Middle East Israel Palestine Levant

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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