Once again as in 2002 the subject of a cease-fire between Israel and the
Palestinians is a subject of intense debate. The political left is
particularly hot on the subject, pointing out that while Hamas has
requested a cease-fire, it is Israel who has rejected the idea.
With the constant rocket attacks on Sederot and other southern towns,
kibbutzim and other civilian as targets, some (two) members of the
government have called on Israel to accept the Hamas offer.
Now with the Gaza situation reminding us that something has to change,
several blogs and other print publications have also joined the calls
for Israel to accept a cease-fire with Hamas.
I can not help but notice that in none of the optimistic articles
demanding Israel accept the cease-fire offer, are the conditions of the
proposed cease-fire enumerated. So, does this cease-fire (Hudna in
Arabic) include ALL Palestinians, does it include the Islamic Jihad &
the PFLP factions? Does Hamas believe it can enforce a cease-fire on
various Hamas factions and on non-Hamas organizations as well.
Will this cease-fire (Hudna) include Judea & Samaria? (I suspect it
does) Can Hamas guarantee compliance there?
Under the conditions of the c-f, will the Palestinians cease recruiting
and preparing for attacks against Israel? Will they be obligated to stop
preparing suicide bomber belts such as have been found these last months
in Judea & Sumeria? Or will this just give them time free from our
interference to acquire and sharpen their swords?
Is this modern Hudna (cease-fire) as binding as The *Treaty of
Hudaybiyya* (Arabic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic>: *???
????????*). This is the treaty that took place between the state of
Medina <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medina> and the Quraishi
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quraish> tribe of Mecca
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca> in March 628
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/628>CE (corresponding to Dhu al-Qi’dah
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhu_al-Qi%27dah>, 6 AH
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_AH>) which the Muslims broke when they
felt they had the strength, as Arafat bragged in a Johannesburg mosque
days after signing the Oslo contract in Washington D.C.?
This cease-fire (Hudna) was agreed on for a period of years.
And to quote from an HaAretz article on the subject the last time it was
seriously discussed:
“*The academic expert, Dr Alon, informs us that _. If the balance of
power shifts to the advantage of the Muslim side during the Hudna, the
Muslim DUTY is to return to war._*
*He also informs us that the hudna is no more than_ …a realistic
recognition of the balance of military forces that requires a truce._ *
In other words the although the hudna is potentially a convenient way
for implementing a cease-fire, we need to understand that it is not
necessarily an arrangement that we can count on, as a change in
circumstances could obligate the other side to resume the violence.”
AND on the other hand…we can not actually respond to the random firing of munitions on our civilians by doing the same,
can we? The suggestion that every time they fire a rocket at Sederot, we shoot one back somewhere into Gaza City or Jabalia
refugee camp also at random.
What would your psychiatrist say to you; if for years you tried to “work things out” with someone who who was abusive,
denied your legitimate existence, much less your needs.
Its like trying to reconcile with a sibling who will not recognize you as a legitimate child of your common parents.
From my personal POV one of the most serious problems is that as each agreement with the Palestinians proves their
inability or unwillingness to make the difficult steps to fulfill their obligations, we over here get more and more cynical
about the possibility of any reconciliation, ever. The same of course works on the other side as well.
There simply are just two kinds of choices left to us, bad ones and worse ones!
