Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
Washington- Immediately after the news of the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas movement, was confirmed, Washington, both official and unofficial, was ecstatic about the news. Comments came out welcoming the Israeli move, and American circles repeated phrases, whether in official statements or in news programs and on social media, the most important of which was “Justice has been achieved.” “Sinwar’s death for Israel is equivalent to the death of Osama bin Laden for the United States.”
On the other hand, others spoke about the consequences of this news and what followed by saying, “Sinwar’s death represents a pivotal moment in the Middle East conflict,” and “We must now reach an agreement that ends the fighting and frees the hostages,” and “Sinwar’s death will not change the course of Hamas,” while others stressed “America had no role in Sinwar’s killing.”
Washington vision
Last July, the US Department of Justice revealed that criminal charges had been brought against the head of the Hamas political bureau, Yahya Sinwar, for his role in relation to the attack of October 7, 2023.
The 7-count criminal complaint filed in federal court in New York City included charges such as conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in murder, conspiracy to kill American citizens, and conspiracy to finance terrorism. The lawsuit also included accusations against Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons. , including missiles and military supplies for Hamas to use in attacks.
Although Washington welcomed Sinwar’s departure from the conflict scene in the Middle East, and considered it a positive step, Matthew Levitt, an international affairs expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, considered that Sinwar’s departure “will not reverse or change the course of Hamas, but it removes a particularly extremist fundamentalist leader.”
Levitt warned that targeting only leaders may lead to decentralization and the rise of new factions, as experiences with Al-Qaeda and Hamas revealed before. The elimination of Osama bin Laden did not eliminate Al-Qaeda, just as the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin did not lead to the fragmentation and elimination of the Hamas movement.
At the same time, some extremist voices from Israel’s supporters called for the need to use Sinwar’s killing to reevaluate the approach to the conflict, as sustainable security measures must now be combined with diplomatic efforts to prevent any future ceasefire from being exploited by Hamas by rebuilding its armed capabilities.
These voices added that to eliminate a movement like Hamas, it requires more than eliminating its leaders, as it involves the necessity of convincing militants that achieving their goals through military actions is not possible, in an attempt to push them to think about disarmament. These voices repeated that it should not The ceasefire is not an end in itself, but rather a carefully managed tool to prevent its exploitation by armed groups.
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, known for its closeness to the Israeli side, said: “The elimination of Sinwar has dealt a strong blow to Hamas, and the Israeli army has achieved a measure of justice for 1,200 victims of the October 7 atrocities, but the Israelis are still suffering about the fate of the hostages.” remaining in Gaza.
Dubowitz added, “The removal of Sinwar from the scene is another milestone in the Israeli response, which also witnessed the elimination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah, and others, and it is now the turn of the Iranian terrorist regime, which bears ultimate responsibility for this war.”
an opportunity
Despite the Hamas movement’s acceptance of the terms proposed by US President Joe Biden to stop the fighting and release the detainees, which in turn were rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, American officials reiterate that Sinwar was the main obstacle to reaching such a decision.
While Joe Trosman, an expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, considered the elimination of Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces an important achievement, he said, “This pivotal moment provides an opportunity to negotiate the release of the hostages, and under favorable conditions, to end the Gaza war.”
Moreover, Trosman adds, “The Iranian-led resistance axis has suffered major setbacks in recent months, and now is the time to press for its complete withdrawal. The Biden administration must recognize this moment as an opportunity to throw its full weight into Israel’s battle against Iran and its proxies.”
At the same time, Aaron David Miller, a former State Department official and expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expressed in a tweet on the “X” platform his reservations about the optimism of many following the killing of Sinwar, and said, “I do not believe in a major change in the rules of the game following this event.” “To benefit from Sinwar’s death, we will need his successor and Netanyahu to take real risks in order to end the war in Gaza. We are unlikely to see these decisions come quickly.”
Role denial
Washington confirmed that it did not directly contribute to the killing of Sinwar, which came by chance, and reiterated that there was no role for the United States in this particular attack, but for more than a year, the American intelligence community and the Joint Special Operations Command had been helping the Israelis side by side, from During the exchange of intelligence information to hunt down Hamas leaders, including Sinwar.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he had directed US intelligence officials to help Israel identify and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding underground.
“For my Israeli friends, this is undoubtedly a day of relief and memories, similar to the scenes the United States witnessed after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama bin Laden in 2011,” Biden said. Biden said he would soon discuss with Israeli leaders ways forward to return detainees and “ End this war once and for all.”