Hamas's primary reason of existence is propaganda. Actually, two different kinds: - Direct propaganda to the Palestinian people that peace with Israel is pract

Hamas's primary reason of existence is propaganda. Actually, two different kinds: - Direct propaganda to the Palestinian people that peace with Israel is practically impossible and morally indefensible, and that the only option is to kill millions of Israelis in the name of Palestinian living space - Indirect propaganda to the Israeli people that peace with Palestine is practically impossible and morally indefensible, and that the only option is to oppress millions of Palestinians in the name of Jewish living space That last one is going to not make sense, except in a "butterflies and flowers[0]" sense... until you remember that Israel directly funded Hamas specifically to discredit more liberal and secular Palestinian independence movements that might[1] have actually been willing to settle for a two-state solution with a few land swaps and concessions. The reasoning for why they'd fund their own violent opposition is outside the scope of this comment[2], you just need to know that it happened. Once you understand that Hamas exists primarily to propagandize against Israel, the staging makes sense. I mean, actual death and destruction is a stimulus that provokes pain and anguish, but why stop at what's real? Supernormal stimuli provoke supernormal responses. In other words, Hamas is a violence porn and snuff film factory masquerading as a guerilla warfare unit. In other, other words, they're terrorists. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc&t=240s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc&t=240s [1] Ok, I don't actually know if this counterfactual would have held, had Benjamin Netanyahu not interfered with peace talks in the early 2000s, or if the more secularized Palestinian political organizations would have still insisted on getting back more land from Israel[3] than was otherwise acceptable. [2] Far-right groups in general love to secretly break bread with their enemies as a form of mutual ideological sadomasochism. Remember, the evil other they propagandize against isn't their real enemy. They actually share a common cause with the evil other: kill the liberals and left-wingers trying to stop them from killing each other and turning their country into a perpetual meat grinder. [3] Yes, pretty much all of Israel is stolen land, in the "British Empire" sense. Used to actually be part of Britain. That theft is still in living memory, which is also a factor as to why Hamas finds it so easy to recruit new terrorists and why any attempt at negotiating a two-state peace deal is impossible. Peace on fair terms is morally unacceptable to both parties.