There is a persistent temptation to measure conflicts in missiles, troop movements, and territorial gains. But in the long struggle surrounding Israel and Gaza, that lens misses the deeper and more consequential battlefield. The most significant victory achieved by Hamas is not military. It is psychological. It is the quiet but powerful rewriting of how millions of people understand history itself.

Hamas did not arise as a spontaneous expression of grassroots Palestinian nationalism. Its ideological roots run through the Muslim Brotherhood and the broader currents of 20th century pan Islamist and pan Arab thought. From its earliest formulations, the movement was not focused on building a modern nation state alongside Israel. Its ambition was far more expansive and far less compatible with Western notions of sovereignty: the restoration of a religious political order across lands once under Muslim rule.

Yet this ideological foundation alone does not explain Hamas’s global resonance. Its real breakthrough came in reframing the conflict through a narrative that is both simple and deeply misleading. By adopting the language of anti colonial struggle, Hamas and its allies managed to invert the historical context of the region. A civilization that arrived through conquest and ruled for centuries repositioned itself as an indigenous population resisting foreign occupation.

This reframing did not happen overnight. It required the construction of a modern Palestinian identity that could be presented as ancient and continuous. In reality, the distinct national identity we now........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)