Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack Wasn’t Mainly About Israel, It Was About Defeating Its Palestinian Political Rival

The Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel—and the subsequent Gaza war—are rarely understood in their primary political context, which is the power struggle among Palestinian factions.

The near-universal assumption is that Hamas viewed its surprise offensive as another phase in a long-term war against Israel. There’s some truth to it, but that misreads why Hamas decided now to deliberately provoke a massive Israeli response—which is the long-standing power struggle between...