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Egypt's Sisi holds Hamas' fate in his hands

Hamas has made a desperate bid for Qatar's support, but even Qatar's money won't save it if Egypt doesn't open the crossings into Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo July 22, 2014. Israel pounded targets across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying no ceasefire was near as top U.S. and U.N. diplomats pursued talks on halting fighting that has claimed more than 500 lives. Dispatched by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Middle East to seek a ceasefire, Kerry held talks on Tuesday in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri.  REUTERS/Charles Dharapak/Pool (EGYPT - Tags

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is in Egypt this week to advance a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, received his fair share of criticism from Israelis during the failed negotiations with the Palestinian Authority for believing that a quick agreement could be reached between the two warring parties. Now, he's about to discover that arranging an acceptable cease-fire is no easy feat, either.

Hamas and Israel are caught in the grip of a bitter strategic struggle, intended to rewrite the rules of the game, rules that were shaped in the wake of the Hamas coup in Gaza and honed during the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) two previous operations in Gaza, Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense. Many, including the US administration, are having a hard time understanding the suicidal motives and moves of Hamas at this stage, as revealed during Operation Protective Edge. Not only did it enter into a military adventure fully aware that it was taking on an Israeli force that is many orders of magnitude larger, more sophisticated and better equipped. Its conduct vis-a-vis Egypt is also difficult to understand, as it is the one country that could possibly save Hamas from complete collapse.

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