Left, Right, and Center: Daily political columnists debate the conflict in the Middle East
January 6, 2009
Hamas leaving no option for Israel to negotiate
By Katie Paff
With an area of merely 20,770 square kilometers and a population of approximately 7 million, Israel is a tiny nation that is just 1/19 the size of California. It is also surrounded by 22 hostile Arab states, many of which openly decry its existence and call for its destruction.
Israel is an oddity in its geographic region: the only true democracy amid a hotbed of unstable dictatorships. The United States’ number-one ally in the Middle East, it is considered a beacon of hope for Jews around the globe.
As the world’s only Jewish state, Israel was established so that the Jewish people — persecuted for centuries and driven out of practically all nations in which they settled — might have a place to call home, a safe haven of sorts where they could live freely as Jews and practice their faith free of fear.
A major obstacle in the way of this goal is Hamas, a Palestinian paramilitary organization that is listed as a terrorist organization by most of the Western world.
The Hamas charter calls for an end to Israel’s existence and is notorious for its suicide bombings and attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces.
The current situation in Gaza began with Hamas’s announcement that its six-month ceasefire was over and the subsequent launch of more than 70 rockets aimed at Israel. Israel has been extremely hesitant in responding to the aggression of Hamas, but everyone knew, without a doubt, that the day of reckoning would arrive sooner or later. The tragic fact is that Hamas will never relent or change its belief that it has a duty given by G-d to destroy Israel, and it also has the ability to do so, despite Israel’s tremendous military capabilities. In terms of numbers, since 2001, Hamas has fired an estimated 4,000 missiles and the same number of mortar shells from Gaza at civilian targets miles inside Israel.
Hamas has been openly preparing for a final dispositive war with Israel, since day one. Its strategy seems clear: provoke conflict, wait for the inevitable civilian casualties and use them as an excuse to turn the world against Israel. Hamas has consistently said that it will never settle for the two-state solution with which most of the Western world agrees. The reality is that the “ceasefire” Hamas offered was really just a chance for them to undergo further training and stock up on artillery. On the other hand, Israel’s restraint during the truce period was actually seen by Hamas as a sign that it was incapable of defending its sovereignty and was on the road to national failure.
Thirsty for blood, Hamas will continue with this destruction unless effective intervention happens. Look at it this way — its actions really don’t carry much risk politically. If more Israelis are killed, Hamas will gloat of its success. If — which unfortunately seems more likely at this point — more Palestinians are slaughtered, they’ll use it as an opportunity to spread further propaganda — implying that they weren’t truly responsible for the bloodbath, and that it was all the fault of “evil” Israel.
Tragically, a sizeable portion of the Arab population believes Hamas’s propagandist message and that their horrific actions are justifiable. It is truly dangerous for so many to believe that it is normal and right for Hamas to continue its barrage of missiles on Israel, while any response in self-defense on Israel’s part is considered an atrocity.
While the loss of human life sustained during this conflict in Gaza — both Israeli and Palestinian — is truly lamentable and heartbreaking, Israel has no choice but to disarm Hamas completely. This is imperative if a lasting peace is to be achieved. Israel cannot negotiate with a group that literally wants to extinguish the Jewish state, totally and forever.
The need is imminent for Israel to liberate itself from the enemy, but hopefully it will also one day liberate the minds of the Palestinian people — the majority of whom simply want to live in peace — from Hamas. Any notion that choosing such leadership will lead to anything other than disaster is simply delusional.
Reach columnist Katie Paff at opinion@dailyuw.com.
Hamas must accept Israel's right to exist
By Russ Wung
Much has been said concerning the potential of a two-state solution for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
This idea has been a favorite among diplomats and other outside observers to the conflict because it appears to give both historically stateless groups a “homeland.”
It is probably the best resolution in theory. However, the power to make it a reality ultimately lies not with Israel or the international diplomatic community.
Although Israelis have historically been hostile to the two-state proposal, there is now fairly strong political support for the idea.
Realists within the Israeli government have always tempered their endorsement of Palestinian statehood with the warning that Palestinian leaders tend to negotiate in bad faith. Constant withdrawals and settlement demolitions have never achieved peace for long.
Everyone wants the realists to be wrong. Most likely, the realists wish they were wrong too.
Pictures and anecdotal reports of the bombing in Gaza convey a grim picture, but not the big picture. It’s easy to sympathize with whoever is suffering the most civilian casualties, as the Palestinians are.
It would make more sense to do so if they had not chosen Hamas to govern them. The election of Hamas to govern the Palestinian territories is probably the best example of how democracy can go wrong in the absence of a civil society infrastructure.
Hamas will only accept a one-state solution; prior to gaining power, it was a terrorist organization explicitly focused on destroying Israel.
Hamas is now a violent extremist political party that is still focused on destroying Israel. A two-state solution is, naturally, incompatible with such a goal.
As long as Hamas is a significant factor, the Israeli government acts to defend itself from an existential threat to which it feels no response can truly be disproportionate. No amount of U.N. posturing can change this outlook.
Hamas knows it is the main thing obstructing peace in the region, and does its best to foment additional anti-Israeli sentiment.
To generate more outcry against Israeli attacks, it deliberately locates high-value targets in Palestinian residential neighborhoods so as to maximize collateral damage casualties among its own people. While Israeli munitions are obviously doing the killing, it is Hamas that is ultimately responsible.
According to Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz, Hamas has sent civilians inside rocket factories before impending strikes to present Israel with a lose-lose situation — hold fire and let more rockets escape to be fired on Israeli cities, or open fire and destroy both rockets and civilians. With such low tactics, Hamas forces the Israeli army to choose who dies.
Such a tactic is only possible because Israel bombs specific Hamas targets.
Hamas, on the other hand, wages its war by firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli towns or sending suicide bombers to blow up Israeli buses and commercial establishments. Simple body counts suggest Israeli culpability, but it is Hamas that is acting with greater malicious intent.
It seems odd that the Palestinian people could end this crisis. Having suffered so many deaths from Israel’s attacks, it would be difficult for them to understand that Hamas is ultimately at fault or that Palestine will only become a country if they accept that Israel has a right to exist. In concrete terms, this means rejecting Hamas rather than permitting it to use them as human shields. Palestine is, after all, still a democracy of sorts.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.
Israel must be willing to talk first
By Chris Jordan
If the United States and Israel hope to ever truly come up with a successful strategy for fighting extreme militarism and threats to their security, they need bigger imaginations.
Pretend just for a minute that you are a mainstream Palestinian person living in Gaza. You, like 66 percent of your fellow Palestinians, support some sort of peace process with Israel. You are fairly moderate and generally prefer peace to violence, but in 2006 you voted for Hamas in the elections. You didn’t necessarily agree with Hamas’s more radical rhetoric, but at the same time you found the status quo unacceptable. You voted for change.
Now in 2008, you are under attack. Israel has launched air strikes that make you afraid to go outside. Then their troops invade. You may not like how things have gone under Hamas’s rule, but at least they are there vowing to fight back against Israeli attacks.
It is baffling that Israel is unable to use its imagination to put itself inside the shoes of Palestinians and understand how Israeli actions are driving Palestinians toward supporting Hamas.
Hamas is a political entity. After winning the elections in 2002, it still faces threats to its power from other political factions. Its periodic rocket attacks could not possibly destroy Israel, but were intended to annoy and provoke; Israel has fallen right into the trap and has taken the bait. Why would Hamas provoke Israel? Because Hamas knows that if Israel responds with military force, threatens Palestinians, and kills civilians, it will further radicalize Muslim opinion worldwide against the Israelis and strengthen Hamas’s position domestically with the Palestinian people.
The Israelis would do much better for themselves, strategically, to take a different approach. In the past, Hamas has indicated its willingness to negotiate with Israel. The Israeli government should take them up on this offer and make a good faith effort to talk and compromise. If Hamas engages Israel honestly, then perhaps some sort of agreement will materialize. If not, it will be clear to moderate Muslims and the Palestinian people that Hamas is standing in the way of peace, and not the Israelis. Ultimately, Hamas must answer to the Palestinian people, and obstructing peaceful negotiation when it is the will of the people is not a good political strategy.
By choosing to attack instead of talk, Israel is losing the battle for hearts and minds across the world. The anti-Israeli sentiment that follows breeds tolerance for extremism and an environment that anti-Semitic militants ultimately thrive on. Losing the masses is a mistake the United States made in Iraq, a mistake it made in Afghanistan and a mistake Israel is making with Muslims and mainstream Palestinians.
Clearly neither Hamas nor Israel has much moral high ground to stand on right now. Hamas provoked Israel with rocket attacks, and is operating in densely populated areas to intentionally drive up the number of civilians killed by Israeli bombs. Despite the fact that these latest Hamas attacks didn’t result in any deaths, Israeli retaliations resulted in the death of more than 400 Palestinians, and 60 civilians. I can understand both why Israel did what it did and the criticisms of its actions.
The question we should be asking ourselves is what can America do to bring peace and stability? Vast majorities of the populations in every major Muslim country have a negative view of the United States, and a lot of that ill will is a result of our policy, which has basically been to sit on the sidelines and condemn Hamas at every opportunity.
Israel is a strong ally, and America should not abandon her. At the same time, we need a change. We need a policy that takes the high ground and Israel needs one that won’t draw the fire of the Muslim world, and that’s in its strategic interest. America should press Israel to seek peace, not war. The only chance Israel has to undercut extremism is through reaching out with their voices, not their bombers.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.
11 Comments
Apparently Hamas is 'thirsty for blood'. You make them sound like dogs that have no reason to defend a territory that technically belongs to them.
Way to look at the struggles of both sides.
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From a political affairs perspective, the Middle East is much to complex to be seen in black and white terms. I agree that Hamas' opinion of Israel must be seen as a threat. But the Palestinian group isn't all villain - they're responsible for building schools, hospitals, and running social programs. Similarly, I can see how Israel's geo-political situation may seem scary. But they're also 6 for 6 when it comes to winning outright military conflicts with the Arab States.
This article seems to argue in favor of military action as a tool to free the hearts and minds of the Palestinians. But as we've seen during our adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq, this strategy never works. I believe the only way peace will come to the Middle East is through developing infrastructure, social programs, trade, and cooperation. It worked for France and Germany after WWII....why can't it work for Israel and the Arab states today?
George Patsourakos
The primary goal of Hamas, a Palestinian military organization, is to end Israel's existence. The Hamas began the current war in Gaza by firing more than 70 rockets at Israel. This left Israel with no choice, but to attack the Hamas. The United Nations needs to get involved in resolving this senseless conflict -- and the sooner it does so, the better!
Not sure where these comments are appropriate, but I feel like I should put them somewhere:
-Labeling the columns in the print edition as "Conservative", "Moderate", or "Liberal" is a really bad idea. Good opinions should be based on research and should stand on their own, regardless of whether a view is traditionally held by one party or another and whether the author states identifying with one party or another or none.
-There needs to be, in the Comments section of this website, a "Mark This As Spam" button. Yes, sometimes websites and online communities are only as good as their members, but how are members supposed to help out if they are not given the proper tools for doing so?
-As for the actual issue at hand:
-Does the author of the Moderate opinion practice or identify with Judaism? I think it's an interesting choice that this person would be charged with writing the Moderate opinion, for this topic/issue anyway.
-As someone who doesn't practice Judaism or Islam and isn't from Israel and isn't Arab and isn't from anywhere near there, I just feel hopeless about the whole situation there.
Hey Paff, Cheney called: he wants his blood lust and penchant for oversimplification back.
Life...it's what seperates the meak, weak and disabled masses from the rest of us "real" people. Israel has a life and a self. It's only natural that Palestine might want to launch some rockets, right out of it's shortpants. That's right, it's simple matter of condescention. The last refuge of the differently abled...crippicle. Do palestinians have lives? i don't think so. If they did, then how come their crying visages give me the urge to hurl all over them. Mother palestine most definately needs a 'tude colonic. How did i know Palestin was a "she"? Because Israel got her sopping wet, and gave her junk it's just deserts.
Anyways, it's been a good hang but i gotta motor. Gotta take a float in a gloat boat, in the lake of just deserts.
SHalom :)
What is the point of arguing that Hamas is "mostly good"? Are you admitting that they are also "bad"? One goes to jail if he does one bad thing and 1000 good things, and he is labeled "bad". The the good of the future of the people on both sides, they need to forget about the history. It is a small gang of people that is making the larger population suffer. I do not want to side with either side, but by electing Hama, the Palestinian has set the course of continued conflict and suffering. They have decided their own fate then.
#5 hey hey,
"-Does the author of the Moderate opinion practice or identify with Judaism? I think it's an interesting choice that this person would be charged with writing the Moderate opinion, for this topic/issue anyway."
What is your point hey, hey? You shoot yourself on the foot by stereo-typing the author for the "moderate" view while arguing that the views should not be labeled as such. I disagree with your view point. The content can be labeled as such, but the author should not be labeled as such. The editor did the right thing.
Your opinion is the right opinion!
Hamas isn't defending their land;
they are using the land of the
Palestinians to fulfill their needs
by attacking Israel (just like we were
attacked by Al Qaeda on 9/11)! Hamas is
from Iran, doing Iran's bidding against
Israel and the West. They are hurting the Palestinians in the process, not
defending them.
Hamas has the ability to destroy Israel?! This is a tiny "resistance" movement that fires rockets into southern Israel with a kill rate of 0.002%; Israel is the strongest military in the world, pound-for-pound, and the only state in the region with nuclear weapons.
Democracy? As reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Central Elections Committee just barred Arab-led groups from running in the upcoming elections. Citizens of Israel were barred from running for office because of their ethnicity.
Surrounded by hostile nations? Egypt and Jordan recognize and work actively with Israel. Lebanon has always been weak, and have shown no aggression towards Israel since Hezbollah assumed major political control in 2006. Israel is actively in negotiations with Syria. Iraq can barely keep itself together. Saudi Arabia has recognized Israel. Where are the hostiles? Iran? Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei just declared attacks on Israeli citizens "haram". Like Catholic for deadly sin.
Hamas has constantly shown itself willing to negotiate, but successful US-Israeli efforts to split Fatah and Hamas left Israel feeling it didn't need to. And your analysis that the destruction of Gaza, war-crime murder of over 1,000 Palestinians, and gross humanitarian violations (as noted by the UN and Red Cross, et al) will lead to peaceful Palestinians instead of, you know, suicide bombers or guerilla forces, is ignorant at its very best.
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11 Comments
When you quoted Dershowitz, you invalidated what was already a very poorly researched piece.
Israel nurtured Hamas as a counter-weight to Arafat. Hamas only exists because of Israel's ongoing brutal, decades long, illegal occupation of various Palestinian lands.
Throughout history, no people will live within an occupation without resisting.
Israel never left Gaza, and to claim they had, and that they had given them Gaza, is a cynical ploy given that The West Bank is callously disregarded as part and parcel of the Palestinian state, and what of East Jerusalem?
Unless the illegal occupations are addressed, the root causes of resistance will never be undermined, on the contrary, history shows they are strengthened.
I agree with Michael Hess above. Dershowitz is a megalomaniac with a very one-sided opinion of the situation.
Hamas was a terrorist group? Come on. Do some research. Jewish scholar Reuban Paz said that Hamas uses and has always used 90% of their money for charity -- building schools, feeding the poor, clothing the cold. Research, Russ, research.
Hamas said in recent years, and continues to say, that they are OK with a State of Israel as long as Israel got out of the (illegally) occupied territory. Hamas also said, rightly so, that Jews existed in Arab countries quite peacefully up until the late 1940s accords. They said that Jews can co-exist next to Muslims and Christians, which actually was how the Middle East existed just fine until Britain came in and messed it all up.
Most of the Semite races (note that Semite means ANYONE of Middle Eastern decent) co-existed in harmony until outsiders came in and shook it all up. Dershowitz says Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, yet Israel doesn't accord Arabs equal rights. Hamas won in DEMOCRATIC elections, fair and square, but the West doesn't acknowledge them as rightly having power over 42% of the country.
This article is biased. Typical for the Old Media, and those who wish to be part of it.
Hamas is teroristic organization and should be destroyed.
Take a look the list of attacks Hamas launched against Israel only in 2008
Israel is a racist country with neo-Nazi behavior.
"The nation of Israel is pure and the Arabs are a nation of donkeys. They are an evil disaster, an evil devil, and a nasty affliction. The Arabs are donkeys and beasts. They want to take our girls. They are endowed with true filthiness. There is pure and there is impure and they are impure."
-- Rabbi David Batzri, head of the Magen David Yeshiva in Jerusalem [Haaretz, March 21, 2006]
And:
"One million Arabs are not worth a Jewish fingernail."
-- Rabbi Yaacov Perrin, Feb. 27, 1994 [N.Y. Times, Feb. 28, 1994, p. 1]
These are just a few of the quotes from Rabbis that advise Israel's highest leaders including Olmert and Livni.
This mentality guides the treatment for the non-Jews in Israel.
EVERY DAY, Arabs in the territories are subjected to harassment in the form of having their children used as target practice, the stoning of old women and men, the destruction of all food supplies including crops and orchards.
Israel claims that it was justified in these acts (because of course using children as target practice is justifiable in the minds of racists) because of Hamas's activities in Gaza.
However, Israel's harassment also occurs on a DAILY BASIS in the West Bank. So what now is their excuse?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellit...
What's even more important is that Israel is officially channeling Nazi tactics by opening an Office of Propaganda whose job is to feed the press the images of Israel's actions during war so that the negative feedback they received during the Lebanese war is limited.
And the Israeli Government, using another Goebbels tactic, is illegally preventing the Press from entering Gaza to report the story for themselves.
On top of that, Israel's Office Of Propaganda has organized a blog writing campaign whereby it using SPAM technology to comment on blogs and it closes blogs to comments so that its blogs appear to be the most active, and only those comments that are in line with their story are posted.
Israel is the world's worst democracy and the world's most dangerous country because it engages in a game in which every non-Jew is treated as either a pawn or prey.
Unfortunately, as an American I am being used as pawn but I refuse to be Israel's fool.
Israel is an Apartheid state and no peace will ever come until Israel changes.
Where are the pictures of the Israeli
children who have been traumatized by the
DAILY rockets by HAMAS. What does the world
think Israel should be doing when for TWO AND
A HALF YEARS the HAMAS was shooting rockets
or sending in suicide bombers? What about the
israeli children living in terror for fear
that a rocket should land on them? Sending in
rockets is an act of WAR and unfortunately
children end up dying in wars. HAMAS is a
detriment to Israeli and the normal
Palestinian public. There are palestinians
who just want to live their lives as do the
Israelis. It is these extreme fanatical
groups that start the trouble and make it
IMPOSSIBLE to live in peace.
Israelis just want to live their lives in
peace and not have to worry about rockets
being shot at them..
The Palestinians have the Hamas to thank for
the blockades. Israel has sent in MANY trucks
of humanitarian aid for these ppl and even
help out some of the vicitims
/mominisrael.blogspot.com/2009/01/pictures-
of-israeli-soldiers-treating.html- Take a
look at these pictures.. Israeli soldiers
giving medical care and helping out
Palestinians who were smuggling weapons..
Somehow these pictures NEVER make it to the
news..
Israel never occupied anybody's land. The country was under British Mandate. The Jews have been in Israel for the past 3700 years. There has NEVER been a period where no jews have been here.
Maybe the Native Indians should start shooting rockets into the US from their reservations that they had to stay in..
The problem of this conflict is that Hamas has brainwashed our children to hate and kill. Watch this video called Children of Hamas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTGbP5...
It is accurate. Please help us here in Gaza from the evil Hamas. Their leaders are destroying our people. We want to live in peace.
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Poor "Mahmud". Hamas is brainwashing his children all the way from Miami, FL.
Does "here in Gaza" happen to be the name of a local retirement home?
BO - LOL
Notice how apparently TV is more responsible for Hamas support than Israeli racism and daily beatings.
This type of logic only makes sense to supporters of Apartheid regimes.
"Where are the pictures of the Israeli
children who have been traumatized by the DAILY rockets by HAMAS. What does the world think Israel should be doing when for TWO AND A HALF YEARS the HAMAS was shooting rockets or sending in suicide bombers? What about the israeli children living in terror for fear that a rocket should land on them?"
So what you are saying is that "TWO AND A HALF YEARS" your children living in fear of rockets justifies slaugthering 600+ people.
Well in that case, then the SIXTY YEARS of Israeli tanks, helicopters, 'targeted' assasinations wiht bombs that kill more civilians than militants, and other terror tactics used by Israeli that have plagued the children of Gaza and the West Bank should justify the killing of at least 6000 Israelis.
When you inflict fear on others as Israeli's racist regime does, then you should expect to live in fear.
If Israel wants long lasting and stable peace, then it must begin by renouncing racism instead of electing leaders like Livni that want to perpetuate it even to the point that they teach it to their children.
December 12, 2008
“In remarks to school children broadcast on Israeli radio, Ms Livni's said her solution for maintaining a Jewish and democratic state of Israel was "to have two distinct national entities".
"Among other things I will also be able to approach the Palestinian residents of Israel... and tell them: 'Your national aspirations lie elsewhere.'"
If only the Nazis had thought about using a race based two-state solution with regard to their “jewish” problem. Oh wait…they did. Funny, how the persecuted have no problems becoming the persecutors.
dont you DARE compare this to the Holocaust. its a fight for survival not superiority.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBYtij...
The fact that that whilst I support Israel, I appreciate that there is a group of people on their doorstep who have nowhere else to go and who believe that they should have a country in the palestinian territories. The palestinians are there and have been mistreated by everybody (especially arab states but also by Israel) and these people need a country!
These people are not going away and nor should they.The palestinians are here, on israels door step and (notleast because the arab world don't care for their welfare) it is Israel's responsibility to help them.
I fully support this military action against Hamas, who I believe are working against the best interests of the palestinian people.
Israel deserves peace. The palestinians deserve peace. We should both be working towards making this a reality!
...and i think most would agree!
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4 Comments
I agree. However, we cannot continue to support their preemptive policies.
They are reminding me of Bush's 'bomb first, ask later' ideals.
Apparently they bombed a house that belonged to a Hamas operative. They killed the guy but also took the lives of his wives and 12 children. I thought that was reckless.
The Gaza Strip is technically Palestinian territory. They should need U.N. approval to invade it in the first place. Of course the U.N. doesn't ever do anything anyway. Who knows that to do!?
Israel has had bad policies with the Palestinians for years and evidently decided that the blockade wasn't working. They were only allowing in a trickle of the food and medicine needed by the Palestinian civilians. We need an ally but we need to tell Israel that they don't have our carte blanche support.
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Sorry Jeb B, your argument is laughable. Did Hama get UN approval to fire rockets into Israel?
The only solution that I can see is for both sides to forget about the past history, and settle for the good of the future. Mind you, Iran would NOT approve that. UN is useless.
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#1 Jed B.
(UW Campus | Unverified Name | UW Community)
on January 6, 2009 at 12:54 a.m.