Laura Rheinheimer
Posted: 3/7/06
Can Israel be reasonably expected to negotiate a road map with a political party/terrorist group that opposes its existence swearing repeatedly that it will not back down?
Israel has a right and an obligation to defend itself. It is truly twisted to say Israel should continue to support an organization that has for years tried - and for all intents and purposes still tries - to effect the violent demise of an independent Israel with a Jewish majority. Expecting Israel to continue to support such an organization, whether they're legitimately elected or not, is a patent misreading of the complicated politics of conflict resolution.
The actions and words of Hamas speak for the intentions of the group. Article 13 of the Hamas charter states that initiatives and international conferences are not an option:
"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."
Hamas stated that it refuses to amend its anti-Semitic charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. After the Hamas victory in the elections, Hamas said it would "absolutely never" recognize Israel. It's like asking Jews to negotiate with the Nazis.
Sharon would not have done any different than Israel's acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with regard to money. No rational Israeli leader would have continued the flow of money to Hamas before a complete recognition of Israel's right to exist and a renunciation of violence. To expect them to do any different, again, is folly.
Cutting tax revenues is not intended to "punish the Palestinians," it is intended to protect Israeli citizens. Many sing the praises of Hamas for providing services like education and healthcare to the Palestinian people, and view it as the reason Hamas was elected.
Hamas has provided some medical care and services but it was not elected for that reason. By most objective standards, Hamas was elected because Fatah was perceived to be corrupt, not because people know Hamas to be a pacifistic organization whose members run around strapping baguettes and brie to their chests. If anything, it's specifically because Hamas is anti-Israel - violently so - that it was able to come to power.
Hamas uses the educational system to indoctrinate Palestinian children. Ask Nonie Darwish, the daughter of a martyr, about learning jihadist chants in grammar school in Gaza.
"In Gaza elementary school, we learned hate, revenge and retaliation," Darwish said in a Feb. 14 discussion held at the Sainte Claire Hotel. "Criticism and questioning were forbidden."
Hamas continues to provide this "free" propagandist education.
To say it has abided by the ceasefire is false and contrary to Hamas' own statements. The ceasefire was an agreement between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made in early 2005. Hamas promptly said it was not party to the ceasefire, and said it would continue to pursue control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel.
Qassam rockets, unguided makeshift steel rockets developed by Hamas, have been consistently launched from Gaza into Israel, targeting civilians. The British Broadcasting Corporation credited Hamas with five rocket attacks launched into Israel in May in two separate attacks. Recent attacks in September, said to be the work of Hamas, were aimed at Israeli communities.
Instead of whitewashing Hamas' rampant anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism and ignoring the huge steps Israel has made toward peace, like the Disengagement Plan, Israel should not be held to a double standard if both sides are truly dedicated to their commitments.
Hamas is probably going to renounce violence, eventually, once it gets a real government established that has control over the Fatah-run security forces. It is totally unrealistic, however, to expect either Israel to keep funding what is still a terrorist organization or Hamas to up and renounce violence just when it has come to power.
It is true that the pursuit of peace has no room for extremists. Suggesting that extremist Hamas should be funded by the very people it is sworn to destroy is not a pragmatic approach.
Laura Rheinheimer is a Spartan Daily staff writer. Guest columns appear every other Tuesday.
3 comments:
Awesome! very informative and you made some good points.
Sorry, Laura, but this sounds like the same old tired propaganda. There is no hope in this scenario, just more conflict and hatred and mistrust.
The only hope (if there is any in a situation so poisoned by revenge and fear and power) is for people to stop idendifying themselves exclusively as "good" and the others exclusively as "bad".
All identities are false...a creation of the mind. Until we stop identifying ourselves with this or that group or religion or cause (it doesn't matter which one), we will continue to create misery. The enemy is belief systems themselves.
My $0.02 on the whole issue (not having a dog in this fight), is that the only hope is for a large third party to insert itself militarily between the Israelis and the Palestinians to keep the peace. The wall might have been a good idea had they chosen a less controversial border, but that's what happens when you leave the line-drawing to one side.
Unfortunately, the only military power with the ability to do this -- the U.S. -- is not even willing to do so to prevent a civil war in Iraq. So the cycle continues, and both sides will always find those on the other side to demonize to keep the cycle going, whether it be Netanyahu, Arafat, Sharon, or Hamas.
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