After Gaza: A Relapse in the Counter-Terrorism Narrative

The world was on the edge of its seats as both Israel and Iran came close to war in recent days. Iran responded with an airstrike to avenge Israel’s attack on a facility in Damascus, Syria, which killed one of its senior military officials. After an apparently controlled Israeli retaliation against Iranian military facilities, Tehran did not escalate further.

PREMIUM

These tensions in West Asia are taking place as the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas continues amid multiple rifts in the world order. The United States (US), despite playing a crucial role in the region, is reluctant to become part of another long-term military competition, while at the same time trying to maintain its hegemonic power structure while countries like China and Russia stir things up to steer. . In the middle, the likes of Hamas are doubling down on their political power and influence, going beyond just tactical attacks.

The world was on the edge of its seats as both Israel and Iran came close to war in recent days. Iran responded with an airstrike to avenge Israel’s attack on a facility in Damascus, Syria, which killed one of its senior military officials. After an apparently controlled Israeli retaliation against Iranian military facilities, Tehran did not escalate further.

PREMIUM

These tensions in West Asia, as the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas continues, are taking place amid multiple rifts in the world order. The United States (US), despite playing a crucial role in the region, is reluctant to be part of another long-term military competition, while at the same time trying to maintain its hegemonic power structure while countries like China and Russia spoil things. . In the middle, the likes of Hamas are doubling down on their political power and influence, going beyond just tactical attacks.

Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political representation since 2012, an office that opened with the blessings of both the US and even Israel. Tel Aviv reportedly continued a level of cash flow to Gaza under Hamas control, despite concerns being raised. However, Qatari leaders are now having second thoughts about continuing to host Hamas at a time when negotiations with the group led by Doha and Egypt appear to be at an impasse. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is revaluing his mediating role after increasing criticism of the Gulf state. At the same time, the chairman of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha, Ismail Haniyeh, recently visited Turkey as rumors circulated that the group may be looking for new office space.

Hamas, banned as a terrorist organization by the US since 1997, has succeeded in strengthening its political function in many ways since the October 7 terror attack on Israel. Taking advantage of the fact that the group’s military wing in Gaza continues to hold dozens of Israeli hostages captive, and not just free-riding, but also manipulating pro-Palestinian narratives as pro-Hamas narratives, these boundaries have been significantly blurred by a global backlash against Israeli military action in Gaza. Gaza and the rising number of civilian casualties.

Hamas is not the first to benefit from the reinforcement of the political narrative that dilutes the militant narrative, and more specifically, that it is supported by Doha’s realpolitik. The Taliban in Afghanistan are now in their third year of holding power in Kabul, and the deal that led them to walk in and take control was signed with the US in Qatar in February 2020. The Taliban’s political office in Doha has arguably acquired significant political power. as the group continued its militant activities in Afghanistan unabated, successfully mobilizing the old proverbial saying: “You have the watches, we have the time.” Hamas appears to be playing the same card game. Political negotiations with a banned extremist group are not a new idea. Interestingly, the appeal and politics of the group itself often determines the level at which they can become involved, if at all. Clumsy and reactionary involvement also has serious consequences and potentially legitimizes both ideology and polity.

In the post-9/11 era and the War on Terror (WoT) era, these have consequences. This WoT era, now on its deathbed after the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has allowed many countries to finally define their own terror threats and counter-terrorism requirements. US-led multilateralism came up with new tools to counter these threats and there was a sense of absolutism about denying space and attention to terrorism and its associated narratives. Many, including India, benefited from these new tools.

While there is no doubt that despite the mistakes and ills made during the WoT period (such as the Iraq War), there were also benefits that were more visible to countries that were usually not given space or attention in bringing up on issues of terrorism, India has attempted to sustain this momentum within its limited capabilities by organizing a session of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee in 2022 and the subsequent publication of the Delhi Declaration, which focuses specifically on use of emerging technologies by terrorist groups.

The global counter-terrorism narrative is in decline, and this trend must be stopped as compromise with some of these groups becomes an acceptable way out. Political empowerment of certain ideologies is short-sighted deterrence without taking long-term thinking into account. Combating terrorism requires better quality of thinking that goes beyond a level of normalization of concessional policies and politics.

Kabir Taneja is a fellow of the Strategic Studies Program of the Observer Research Foundation. The opinions expressed are personal

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