The False Mask of Peace in the Middle East

It is big news that Hamas is joining the PLO. It marks for the first time in years that the Palestinian polity has it's two largest groups Hamas and Fatah as part of the same governmental authority. Aside from numerous internal sticking points however, one external point remains glaring at all those who can simply recognize it. Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel as a legitimate nation.

Now, I am not an Israeli and in the end it is up to them to decide what they feel is right. I never served in the Israeli Defense Forces, I never had to put on a uniform once per year to do Milluim.... Nothing. So, I am not one who can negotiate for the Israelis for Peace. I don't have to deal with the constant threat of terrorist attacks hanging over my head. Day after day after day. My only experience was that I had to live with it for a year when I got spend my Junior year abroad in Haifa, Jerusalem, a Kibbutz in the North, and a short time (two weeks) on an Army base in the South.

All of this said I am a Jew, and Israel does represent something important to me. I support Israel because of what it means to me, I care about Israelis as fellow Jews - that frankly means something to me. To a degree I admire Israelis who have to face this everyday but have built a nation that to this point they should be proud of.

I have issues with Israel as well. As an American, I gladly vote for people that will support my nations friendship with Israel and my tax dollars and individual contributions are real factors to help that happen. My country has political goals in the Middle East, I am concerned that things Israel does at times affects those interests. I have issues with some of the things they do relative to the Palestinians because as a Jew and as a Human Being, I don't care for injustice to any fellow human being.

Overall though... I firmly support Israel as a friend and an ally. To me, Israel and Israelis represent something special and something that needs to continue into the far, far future. SO... that all said - here is my take on the new inclusion of Hamas, and here is what I want to say to Israel.

"Guys.. the Palestinian Polity is not interested in Peace with you, this is clear". Sure individual Palestinians want Peace, but does the polity as it stands? I think the inclusion of Hamas sends a clear message of "NO" they don't. Why do I say this... Well, let's look at the words spoken by Hamas officials.

Here is a report from Maan News quoting an anonymous Hamas official:

One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamas's Mashaal had told Abbas that his group was "in favor of peaceful resistance and a truce in Gaza and the West Bank at this stage".

The official offered no further explanation on what that might mean. Hamas has said in the past it would agree to a long-term truce with Israel, but remains sworn to its destruction.

And here is Ahmed Youssef a political advisor to Hamas:

Ahmed Youssef, a political adviser to Hamas' Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that the group had to "create popular resistance that draws the world to our struggle, and that doesn’t give the Israelis the justification to hit us hard."

"The non-violent approach is part of a strategy for our present situation to draw world sympathy to our cause,” the top aide said adding that the possible change in strategy was also a result of Hamas' “vulnerable situation against the Israelis, who have a huge propaganda machine.”

Further, here is Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh himself talking about this:

"Resistance is the way and it is the strategic choice to liberate Palestine from the (Jordan) river to the (Mediterranean) sea and to remove the invaders from the blessed land of Palestine," Haniyeh told the crowd, which chanted: "We will never recognize Israel."

"Hamas, together with other stubborn resistance factions, will lead the people towards uprising after uprising until all of Palestine is liberated," Haniyeh said, referring to territory that includes the occupied West Bank and what is now Israel.

Now many supporters of the Palestinians look at what Khalid Meshaal just recently said when he declared that he would accept a Palestinan State within the 1967 borders as de facto acceptance and recognition of Israel. However the words of his officials, Haniyeh, and Youssef all prove that to be a lie. Of course Meshaal will take Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders as a first step to ending Israel. Who wouldn't (if that was their goal)?

Further, Meshaal's own words lend further creedance to the fact that he has no intention of accepting Israel whether there are two States or not:

During the AP interview in Cairo after his meeting with Abbas, Meshal said Hamas would not renounce its own armed fight against Israel. The group has killed hundreds of Israelis, most of them civilians, in suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks since the Islamist group was formed in 1987.

"As long as there is an occupation on our land, we have the right to defend our land by all means, including military resistance," he said.

Take this last statement in context that Hamas considers all land from the Jordan River to the Mediterannean Sea "Occupied Territory". The inclusion of Hamas into the P.L.O. (along with Palestinian Islamic Jihad) with it's genocidal charter, and it's committment to end the existence of Israel simply makes the P.L.O. no partner for peace. Plain and simple.

So what do I suggest: Well, I think the Occupation is the wrong thing to do from both a human perspective and a perspective based on wanting to see preserved as a Jewish State and Democracy for all of it's citizens. Therefore, I suggest that the Israelis work with the U.S. to secure borders that will guarantee their security and will end the Occupation of populated Palestinian areas in the West Bank. I foresee a similar map to the final map issued by Ehud Olmert in 2008.

This map would guarantee Israeli security, since it is obvious that the struggle against it would simply continue albeit with them in reduced borders plus it would mean that there would not be a huge population
of people there to compromise the premise of Israeli Democracy. Of course, if once, there was guerilla action against Israel they could simply act as one nation does towards another that attacks it, and then there would be no issue of borders or anything.

Will this make some people upset? Probably. Do I as someone who supports Israel's continued existence care? Not really. The Palestinians by bringing in P.I.J. and Hamas have set this ball in motion. There are a million different things they could have done differently - they chose this path. Now.... they have to live in it.