Points of Clarity | Parallels Between Hamas and the Houthis?
In a high-stakes gamble, regional militias and non-state actors, like the Houthis and Hamas, willingly endure losses to bring attention to their causes. The Houthis leverage international commerce through shipping attacks, while Hamas revives the Palestinian cause.
Video Transcript
Points of Clarity | Parallels Between Hamas and the Houthis?
The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
So the various non-state actors, the militias that have proliferated over in the region over the last four decades are willing to take the kind of consequences, lose human lives, lose territory, lose their arsenal because they have drawn attention to their movements, their causes. They have the Houthis, for example, have a lopsided leverage over international commerce now because of their attacks on shipping.
Hamas is gaining attention for the Palestinian cause in a way that probably hasn't been focused in over a decade. And so to them, getting the international community involved in their causes is worth the price that they have been paying.
Guest
Robin Wright
Author and columnist for The New Yorker
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Middle East Program
The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
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