generalspeaking

Truce? Think Solution Instead

The Hamas leaders, skilled at hiding, at carefully placing themselves out of harm's way, having exposed the civilian population in Gaza to the defensive assaults of the IDF in retaliation for ongoing rocket assaults on Israel, denies it has any intention of reinstating a truce. It might, however, consider a ceasefire if Israel first stops its aerial bombardment of Gaza, opens the borders, all of them, permanently, and sues for peace.

A peace,needless to say, that will never be recognized as having any legitimacy by Hamas.

Israel, for its part, is unwilling to lift the pressure it is now imposing upon Hamas. A respite in its assaults on Hamas infrastructure and personnel will only result in their once again taking up the opportunity to rest, regain their determination to continue their ongoing offensive, in the process collecting their funding, and restoring their armaments. The leaders of Hamas may be in hiding, but they're still capable of noble public statements.

"We tell the leaders of the enemy - if you continue with your assault, we will hit with our rockets further than the cities we have hit so far. If you decide to enter the Gaza Strip, the land in Gaza will burn under your feet and it will explode under your soldiers and Gaza children will collect parts of your bodies and your tanks from the streets." It is not Israel that celebrates and prosecutes a scorched-earth policy, but the courageous and enlightened Hamas.

The aerial bombardment has now accomplished as much as it can, hitting the Hamas government ministry offices, the rocket emplacements in places as diverse as mosques and crowded markets, the tunnels. And it seems as though a ground invasion may be next on the agenda, to come face-to-face with the hardened fanatics who claim to want nothing better for their futures than to float up to heaven as blessed martyrs, in the process leaving behind the death-charred bodies of as many Israelis as possible.

As for the Palestinian population, witness to the destruction of what little they have, mourning their dead, anxiously scrutinizing the skies for signs of further bombardments, they worry about the potential inherent in a ground invasion, from their very close perspective. Knowing full well that it is the practise of those brave jihadists in battle to seek out safety in the homes of civilians, where the IDF would be certain to follow them.

The desperate plight of the Palestinians is the concern of the entire world, and that is inclusive of Israel. Is Israel, then, to submit to the judgement of Hamas's late spiritual leader whose message of their determination was quite clear - "Hamas was established to resist and kick out the occupier. All of Israel, Tel Aviv included, is occupied Palestine" - in the interests of ensuring a better life for Gazans to the detriment of Israelis?

Israel stands ready and willing to open border crossings for the passage of emergency supplies to aid the horribly abused and embattled Palestinian civilians. It would dearly love to be able to deliver a well-received message to Hamas, that the rockets, smuggled through tunnels from Egypt, which have successfully reached Ashdod and Beersheba, will not be tolerated, and should Hamas agree that their lobbing of these deadly missiles are intolerable, and they agree to cease, tolerable relations could result.

Which is what Israel and the Fatah-led government of Mahmoud Abbas, speaking for the Palestinian Authority, are aiming for; constructive agreements leading to peace and ultimately to the realization of two states existing side by side. For Fatah, recognized as the 'moderate' wing of Palestinian resistance, appears as Israel's only hope for recognition and peace. That, despite a PLO spokesman's 2001 moment of candour in stating "Our strategic goal is Palestine from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river".

Negotiating partners seeking mutual accommodation can always overlook excesses of emotion as representative of war-weariness. After all, two parties in any kind of negotiations must come to the bargaining table in good faith. And it must surely be seen as some sign of good faith that Israel is desperately attempting, despite the severity of its attacks on Gaza, to spare civilian life and limb. It has permitted a hundred truckloads of food and medicines to cross into Gaza, despite the ongoing barrage of rockets. It has welcomed some ill and wounded Gazans into Israel for hospital treatment.

It has attempted to alert tens of thousands of Gazan residents, to warn them that their homes have been identified as harbouring militants, or being used to produce weapons, or as rocket workshops, and will therefore be targeted. Permitting them thereby to evacuate the premises before bombs are dropped. Hundreds of thousands of warning leaflets have been scattered on the ground, repeating the message aimed toward noncombatants.

And while Israel seeks a truce that must include a complete stop of rocket and mortar fire into Israel, along with a ban on Hamas militias straddling the Gaza-Israel border and a promise from Hamas to meet commitments, Hamas responds with the demand that Israel pull back from its attack, that all crossings between Gaza and Israel and Egypt be opened. And oh, by the way, those rockets that so disturb Israeli citizens? We won't discuss that at the present time.

As for Iran, the major supplier and encourager of its proxy Hamas, it has its own part to play in this ongoing drama. Quite apart from condemning the 'genocide' that Israel is perpetrating against innocent Gazans and worthy Hamas, Iran is prepared to take matters into its own hands. It has set up its own international tribunal to try Israel for its air assaults on Gaza, which constitute a crime against humanity.

Iran has that social, humanitarian, moral obligation, as an upright citizen-nation of the world, dedicated to peace and harmony among all the peoples of the world. Its newly-established criminal court to focus exclusively on the Israeli commissions of brutality against Gaza, "is prepared to deal with the executors, planners and officials of this [Israeli] regime who have committed crimes".

Now there's the ultimate solution.

Labels: Israel, Middle East, Traditions

posted by Pieface @ Thursday, January 01, 2009