Tag Archives: Hamas

Some Reflections on Two Years of War in Gaza

Posted on October 18, 2025 by jonathanspyer

Australian, 18/10 At the Gama Junction, a few kilometers from the Gaza border,  I met Gadi Mozes.  Among the crowd of people waiting to greet the convoy bearing the last 13 of the living Israeli hostages from Gaza.  Gadi, who … Continue reading →

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Jebalya, Shani Louk and the Conceptzia

Posted on August 30, 2025 by jonathanspyer

I remember the light in the Valley of Ela on the day of Shani Louk’s funeral.  It was late springtime, clear light, of the kind that you get in Jerusalem.  I didn’t get enough time to travel round the villages … Continue reading →

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In the Heart of Darkness

Posted on October 18, 2024 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 18/10 A Yezidi former slave rescued from Gaza Reveals Her Horrifying experiences in Jihadi Captivity It is now two weeks since the rescue of the Yezidi hostage Fawzia Amin Sido from captivity in Gaza by the IDF, in … Continue reading →

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Notes from a Long War – Israel, a year on from October 7

Posted on October 10, 2024 by jonathanspyer

The Australian, 6/10 ‘We have sat, an easy generation, in houses held to be indestructible,’ wrote the German poet Bertolt Brecht, of himself and his countrymen, in 1925.  These words have returned to me on a number of occasions in … Continue reading →

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With Morsi gone, Hamas turns back to Iran

Posted on September 29, 2013 by jonathanspyer

A number of recent reports have noted the revival of Iranian financial backing for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which rules the Gaza Strip. The Iranian decision appears to follow a series of meetings between officials of the Islamic Republic … Continue reading →

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Are non Al Qaeda Syrian Rebels ‘Moderate’?

Posted on September 6, 2013 by jonathanspyer

For elected representatives and the public to have the necessary discussion regarding action in Syria, it is crucial that a clear picture of the realities on the ground in Syria be presented. Regarding the Assad regime and its apologists, nothing … Continue reading →

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Hamas’s Mis-Calculation

Posted on November 18, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Weekly Standard Blog, 18/11. The crisis now under way in Gaza represents the moment in which the wave of Sunni Islamism that has been achieving triumph after triumph in the region since early 2011 finally crashes up against the Jewish … Continue reading →

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Is the Palestinian national movement dying?

Posted on July 27, 2012 by jonathanspyer

There is a strong case for saying that the Fatah-led Palestinian national movement, as we have known it from the late 60s onward, is fading from the scene. But while in practical terms the Palestinian national movement is an increasing … Continue reading →

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The Rise of Hamas-Gaza

Posted on May 16, 2012 by jonathanspyer

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement which controls the Gaza Strip, recently held internal elections. The polls were for the Gaza Political Bureau and Shura Council, often described as the movement’s parliament. Hamas holds its votes in secret, and tries to … Continue reading →

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Islamic Jihad attacks, Hamas’s dilemmas

Posted on March 13, 2012 by jonathanspyer

In by far the sharpest escalation since late 2008, scores of rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel during recent days following Israel’s killing of the Gaza-based leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) Zuhair al-Qaisi and … Continue reading →

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