Is Benjamin Netanyahu Responsible for Hamas?

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 There are two competing answers to this question. On one side, there are those who share The Times of Israel's Tal Schneider's argument that Netanyahu saw the rise of Hamas as a way to prevent a unified Palestinian state from becoming reality and enabled Hamas towards that end. On the other side there's Business Insider's Rebecca Rommen who writes that Netanyahu simply took a less active approach to dealing with Hamas. 

So who is correct? Or more specifically: who is more correct?

Rommen cites Middle East analysts like Laura Blumenfeld ("The approach was more of a seasonal mowing of the grass rather than scorched earth")  and Jonathan Spyer ("Netanyahu has never said he prefers Hamas, so people are extrapolating from his supposed behavior.") to support her argument. Schneider points to the uptick of work permits to Gaza since 2021 and Israel allowing "suitcases holing millions in Qatari cash to enter Gaza through it's crossings since 2018." 

Both stories agree that Netanyahu saw division amongst Palestinians as a benefit for Israel. Currently the West Bank (controlled by Fatah) and Gaza (controlled by Hamas) are governed by two different groups. As long as this persisted, the odds of a unified Palestine were slim, making the odds of creating a two-state solution even slimmer. Speaking of which, a source in Netanyahu's political party confirmed back in 2019 that the money going to Gaza was allowed because it helped "keep Hamas and the Palestinian Authority separate." 

It says here that Netanyahu assumed that Hamas would drive wedges in the Palestinian people and encouraged things that would keep the group around, but most likely did not assume that Hamas would eventually coordinate such a massive and devastating attack on Israel. In other words: he didn't start the fire, but he did play with it. 


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