“Killing” All of Hamas Won’t Eradicate Israel’s Problem - Hamas is More Idea than Group

Hamas is not just an organization; it is the militant expression of an idea—that Israel must be destroyed and replaced by an Islamic state.

As long as millions of Palestinians (and many others across the Muslim world) see their identity, dignity, and faith itself as inseparable from resisting Israel’s existence, killing every current Hamas member will only create space for new recruits and new leadership.

Islam, for many in that region, has fused with Palestinian nationalism so tightly that humiliation and occupation keep fertilizing the soil in which that idea grows. Simply eliminating today’s fighters without addressing their underlying grievance and identity simply guarantees there will be another generation of fighters (at least).

At bottom, the World will continue to pay for this Old Testament feud through mass migration spilling out of the region, higher energy prices, and threat of nuclear proliferation as those weapons become more and more accessible.