The logic in warfare strategy is entirely based on game theory- if you want to coerce your enemy into defeat, you exact such a high price from them that you incentivize their capitulation. This logic does not work for Israel when dealing with the Palestinians and Hamas.

There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that Israel and the US (and other international actors), which pressure Israel, create a framework in which the idea of resistance (Muquwamah) for Palestinians continually makes sense. In order for Israel to win, it has to recreate the rules of the conflict where Muquwamah is not worthwhile, does not work in the long term, and therefore does not make sense in the eyes of the Palestinians.

The Palestinian ethos, in its essence, is resistance. The idea formulated in one sentence- Israel is the ultimate cosmic evil, the purveyor of everything that is wrong in the world, and the answer to the question of the meaning of life for a Palestinian is to fight Israel, sacrifice oneself (and one’s family) to cause as much destruction as possible for Israel. 

It does not matter if the resistance improves the lives of Palestinians because it…