Hamas's Travails in Gaza

Historian Juan Cole has an excellent account of what is happening to Hamas in Gaza. According to Cole, Hamas is reeling from a loss of funding from Egypt, where it could count on Mohammed Morsi’s support, Syria, where it sided with Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood against the Assad regime, and Iran, which cut Hamas off after it broke with Assad. In addition, Egypt’s military government has closed the tunnels through which the Gazans received goods in defiance of the Israeli blockade. Cole estimates that Gaza receives more goods through Israel than through the Sinai. In addition, Hamas faces within Gaza a Gazan version of Egypt’s Tamarrud, or Rebellion movement, which opposes Islamist government. It’s hard to see what good can come of any of this amidst Gaza’s poverty and unemployment, which is only growing worse.