Daniel Levy, president of the US/Middle East Project, tells Al Jazeera that current news, like the piece reported here and like the images of an undefeated and popular Hamas emerging in Gaza, is causing cognitive dissonance in Israel. None of it matches up with what the hasbara has been telling them.
Israeli society is going through cognitive turmoil right now and has to start rethinking things. At the deepest level, they’ll have to rethink what living in peace with their neighbors means and how really to go about it. On that same level, they’ll have to grapple with the long-term meaning of the charges brought against their country at the ICJ, and against their leaders at the ICC.
As for the Gazans, they are not cowering in fear under Hamas, nor resenting Hamas. If you follow the video reports on the ground, they are claiming the victory for themselves as well: Because of their steadfastness and fortitude they withstood the genocide and Israel was defeated. Yes, there is pain and grief, but joy and resoluteness are also very clear and these shine through.