As Bashar al-Assad and his allies continue their bloody repression of his domestic enemies, many Arabs no longer see Israel as the greatest enemy; similarly, both Arab rulers and their subjects are less inclined to admire Iran and Hizballah for their “resistance” against the Jewish state, and more inclined to see them as strategic threats to their own countries, made morally repugnant for participating in the slaughter in Syria. Hadeel Oueis, who spent several months in prison in Syria for her role in the early days of the uprising, explains:

[The] Syrian war with its catalyzing of new alliances has reinforced the conviction of a broad group of Arab governments and peoples that Iran and political Islam are the real enemies that pose an existential threat. . . . This is not to say that the rhetoric of resistance against Israel is faltering in the Arab sphere. Arab meetings and summits continue to focus on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But [many Arabs are aware that] the crimes committed by the “axis of resistance”—which includes Assad’s Syria, Hizballah, Hamas, Iran, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—against Arabs have been far worse than even the [distorted accounts found] in “resistance” literature about Israel.

For example, more than a half-million Syrians, including civilians and their children, have been killed at the hands of Iranian agents and other local Syrian groups. By contrast, Israeli hospitals during this period provided displaced Syrians with healthcare and safe rooms away from Assad’s barrel bombs and Iranian militias. This initiative, while small, has had an impact on the attitudes of segments of the Syrian community, where the contrast between Iranian and Israeli actions toward Syrians stood in sharp relief.

At the grassroots level, open access to the Internet has also expanded young Arabs’ access to and understanding of Jews, Israelis, and Israel. Ironically, [the teenage Palestinian provocateur] Ahed Tamimi’s experience in Israeli jails . . . has become a major point of comparison between the rule of law and respect for rights in Israel and the treatment of young members of the political opposition in the jails of Arab countries.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.