Cease Fires and the Palestinian People

Shalom All,

"Hey! Let's call for a cease fire between Hamas and Israel. Israel will withdraw its troops and the Hamas can continue firing! Its not like Israel will be able to invade again. A cease fire is a win for Hamas."

You can hear these words being said in homes and capital cities around the Arab world. Hamas would never abide by a cease fire if the consequences of violating that cease fire are all to its advantage: worldwide condemnation of Israel, pressuring Israel to increase concessions to Palestinian people, demonstration of Hamas' ability to weather Israel's military storm which increases its prestige and ability to raise money, increased Hamas control of its borders including imports and exports through smuggling tunnels and the ability to utilize any cease fire to simply increase its military capabilities.

Hamas has demonstrated that it cares not at all about the lives of Palestinians, much less Israelis. Palestinian dead are martyrs and according to Hamas, achieve the highest goal that any good Palestinian could hope for, the death of a shahid (you only need to watch Hamas' children's television programming to see that).

Taken from www.PalestineMediaWatch.org:

The following is the full text of the comments by Hamas representative Fathi Hamad:"For the Palestinian people death became an industry, at which women excel and so do all people on this land: the elderly excel, the Jihad fighters excel, and the children excel. Accordingly [Palestinians] created a human shield of women, children, the elderly and the Jihad fighters against the Zionist bombing machine, as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: We desire death as you desire life."
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas) Feb. 29, 2008]

I can't even begin describe the sick videos for children that Hamas produces which encourage them to seek martyrdom which you can find on the web site above. You just have to see them for yourselves.

So, of course, Hamas cannot be counted upon to abide by a cease fire for any length of time. Cease fires are merely strategic pauses in an ongoing war.

What is even more troubling to me is the constant association of Hamas with "The Palestinian People" in the media and even from Palestinian Authority spokesmen. If Hamas is indeed the representative of the Palestinian people then Israel has every right to go to war with the entirety of the Palestinian people. If Hamas is the legitimate government of the Palestinians then the Palestinian people are in a state of declared war against Israel and the Palestinian people do not desire peace with Israel. I have tended to believe that there were really two PEOPLES among the Palestinians fighting to represent the whole. One supported Fatah's efforts to make peace. The other supported Hamas' efforts to wage war. I'm not certain of that anymore.

You cannot have it both ways. Either Hamas is an enemy both to Israel and to Palestinians as a whole or Palestinians as a whole are enemies to Israel. Personally, I'd open door number one. Listening to the news last night with Mustafah Barghouti speaking for the PA and Hanan Ashwari, and other Israel demonizers leaping to the defense of Hamas, I believe that door number two has been broken down by angry mobs of militants and leftists working hand in hand, both Palestinian leaders and western leaders and is being trumpeted by the world's media.

If I took what was on television yesterday as the reality, I would say that the PA has abandoned leadership to Hamas and that hope for any substantial peace is a long way away.

-David