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The news of Alan Johnston’s release is welcome indeed.

Much has changed in the 114 days since Mr. Johnston was captured, including a Hamas military coup in Gaza which has left the group in control of the strip, a control confirmed by Hamas’ victory over the ‘Army of Islam’ Dughmush clan who kidnapped the reporter.

Mr. Johnston himself acknowledged this in the first news conference since his release when he told reporters:

“If it hadn’t been for that real serious Hamas pressure, that committment to tidying up Gaza’s many, many security problems, then I might have been in that room for a lot longer.”

While Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas spokesman said:

“We didn’t work to receive favours from the British government. We did this because of humanitarian concern, and to achieve a government aim to extend security to all without fear.”

Hamas’ ‘humanity’ will no doubt send some reporters scurrying to their keyboards to talk about the profound differences between the ‘good’ Hamas terrorists and ‘bad’ terrorists such as al Qaeda. So I hope I won’t sully today’s celebrations if instill a note of realism and, perhaps surprisingly, a note of optimism.

Let’s not not lose sight of the fact that Hamas’ coup in Gaza followed a cruel and bloody campaign of murder and violence during which many innocent Palestinian civilians lost their lives. Amongst many other atrocities, a Fatah man was famously shot in the legs before being tossed off a multi-story building. After the gun battle that ended with Hamas overpowering the Fatah supporting Bakr clan, the Hamas military wing removed all the family members from their compound and lined them up against a wall. They selected a 14-year-old girl, two women aged 19 and 75 and two elderly men and shot them to death in cold blood.

No doubt this sent a clear message of Hamas’ intentions to all the armed clans of Gaza and the message was reinforced by Hamas’ tactics in pursuing their Fatah enemies.

Every Hamas patrol carried with it a laptop containing a list of Fatah operatives in Gaza, and an identity number and a star appeared next to each name. A red star meant the operative was to be executed and a blue one meant he was to be shot in the legs - a special, cruel tactic developed by Hamas, in which the shot is fired from the back of the knee so that the kneecap is shattered when the bullet exits the other side. A black star signaled arrest, and no star meant that the Fatah member was to be beaten and released. Hamas patrols took the list with them to hospitals, where they searched for wounded Fatah officials, some of whom they beat up and some of whom they abducted.

So, with the welcome release of Alan Johnston, Hamas has demonstrated its control of the Gaza Strip and that it’s no ‘paper tiger‘. Now Hamas must take full responsibility for future terrorist or rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Any such attacks will be dealt with fiercely by the Israelis and it is certain that retaliation for attacks on innocent Israeli civilians will be taken against the Hamas leadership and the perpetrators of the violence, as it should be. Israel has always, and will continue, to take care to minimise civilian casualties, although mistakes have been made and tragedies have occurred. I also have no doubt that Israel will continue to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians of Gaza are met.

And although I don’t want to overlook the true nature of the Hamas beast, I will end on a note of optimism. As I previously wrote:

I’m no fan of the terrorists now ruling Gaza but rule it they do. Hamas control over the region may be the best hope for the future of achieving, if not a peace agreement between Israel and the Iran-sponsored group, then at least a cessation of hostilities.

Amen to that.

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