Oct. 7 Attack, Subsequent War Broke Nearly 2-Decade-Old Communication Backchannel Between Israel, Hamas

Gershon Baskin, a peace activist based in Jerusalem, and Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, began communicating in 2006
n Israeli peace activist and a Hamas official communicated in secret for nearly two decades until the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack, when the two fell out, according to a report by the New York Times.

Gershon Baskin, the activist based in Jerusalem, and Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, began communicating in 2006 after Hamas captured an Israeli soldier and the Jewish state, in return, invaded the territory.

Baskin and Hamad sought to negotiate a cease-fire and prisoner release during that conflict and had in years since discussed their mutual ambitions for a long-term truce between the two factions.

The two had even maintained contact in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack, when Hamas fighters killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and took an additional 200 back to Gaza as hostages.

But that relationship began to break down in recent weeks, the Times reported, as Baskin, a leftist, and Hamad, a moderate, began to hew closer to their respective sides’ mainstream views. Hamad has called for the annihilation of Israel, while Baskin has demanded the removal and eradication of Hamas.

“In my mind, they can no longer exist as a government next to Israel,”

Baskin said, according to the Times, while Hamad said Baskin’s “stance has changed.”

Azzam Tamimi, a historian of Hamas who also knows Hamad well, told the Times that Hamad’s public views on Israel may have hardened in the wake of Israel’s retaliatory attacks on and invasion of Gaza, which have left more than 12,000 Palestinians dead and countless homes, businesses and other buildings completely destroyed.

While Hamad left Gaza for Lebanon several weeks before the Oct. 7 attack, he still has several relatives and friends within the besieged territory.

“Suddenly, he lost family members, he lost many of his friends,” Tamimi said, according to the Times. “Probably that’s the issue.”

Tamimi added that Hamad has likely always had stronger feelings toward Israel than he let on, but hadn’t voiced them publicly until now.

“Nobody should be under the illusion that someone that senior in Hamas is willing to recognize Israel’s right to exist,” Tamimi said, according to the Times.

Originally Published bt The Messenger at https://themessenger.com/news/israel-hamas-oct-7-attack-subsequent-war-broke-nearly-2-decade-old-communication-backchannel