"In Conversation" Series
Lecturer:
Prof. Daniel Sobelman (Hebrew University)
Title:
What Was Hamas Thinking? The War in Gaza and the Struggle over the Middle East’s Regional Order.
Abstract:
Hamas’s October 7th strategic surprise was the catastrophic culmination of a process by which the organization had gradually but consistently pursued an asymmetrical strategy of “resistance” to alter the balance of power vis-à-vis Israel. Nowhere was this more evident than in Hamas’s ability to shape what both sides had long called the “rules of the game.” Observing the conflict through its own conceptual prism, rather than through the strategic rationale of its far weaker adversary, Israel had failed to recognize that not only was it failing to deter Hamas, but Israel itself was, in fact, being deterred.
The following discussion will outline the evolution of the current conflict since Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007. It will explain the strategic rationale of “resistance” as an asymmetrical strategy and situate the current conflict within the broader geopolitical context of the struggle over the Middle East’s regional order. In this respect, Hamas had become an integral part of the Iran-led “axis of resistance,” a strategic network of “resistance” actors and a learning community that has gained critical mass in recent years.
Location:
Eilan Hall, Feldman Building, Second Floor, Edmond Safra Campus.