Israel's 'Local Partner' Dies in Rafah, Shocking No One
The New Arab details the killing of Eid al-Louh in Rafah, described as the head of an 'Israeli-backed' militia group fighting Hamas. This 'local partner' approach, where an occupying power attempts to cultivate loyal proxies, has a long, bloody history—from Vietnam's strategic hamlets to Iraq's Sunni Awakening Councils. It rarely ends well for the proxies. One might wonder if Israel's
military—which has claimed to eradicate Hamas repeatedly, yet continues to need 'local partners' to fight them—should perhaps re-evaluate its strategy, or if this endless cycle of proxy creation and destruction is, in fact, the point. How many times will we see headlines about a 'new security mechanism' for Gaza before we admit the old ones keep failing, usually violently?