Comments on YES - WE DO HAVE TO TALK TO 'TERRORISTS'

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Dylan...

...my impression is that Israel do want to continue the status quo, as you say. Just look at that abhorent wall, the shooting of the little girl, the demolition of Patestinian homes and the continuing expansion of settlements in the occupied territories.

On the other hand, I have the impression Hamas do want a lasting peace. They clearly don't want to be terrorists - after all, their ceasefire has held now for almost a year. And they're clearly freaked about the size of their win last month at the polls, so I'm not sure they really want to be in politics, either. So I don't believe
both sides thrive on the status quo - just the Israelis, backed by the Americans.

Thanks for reading.

D

posted by DamonLeigh on February 6, 2006 at 4:46 AM | link to this | reply

Refusing to talk and seriously negotiate

is a great strategy if you are cynical, and if what you really want is not a lasting peace, but a continuation of the status quo which keeps you in power.  What use would there be for the far-right of Israel (Netanyahu) or Palestine (Hamas) if a long-term peace were finally established?

These factions make their living off of war and the threat of war. Far-right factions need there always to be at least a credible threat of large-scale violence in order to pursue their draconian, fascistic agendas. Only when such a threat exists or seems to exist can the majority of people be persuaded to support or tolerate the extreme tactics of these fascistic leaders. That's what I believe, anyway.

posted by Dyl_Pickle on February 5, 2006 at 8:57 AM | link to this | reply

Gentlemen...

..thanks for reading!

We are entering an interesting phase over there. If Nettanyahu gets in, he's far right for sure.

Israel are already syaing they won't speak to Hamas. Hamas have said they won't speak to Israel. It's like the politics of the schoolyard, isn't it?

George Mitchell, the US senator who did so much to broker peace in Northern Ireland with the IRA, said that the trick is to listen, and listen, and listen for as long as it takes. How's that going to work if both sides refuse to talk??

Sheesh.

D

posted by DamonLeigh on February 5, 2006 at 8:29 AM | link to this | reply

Nice Post!

I think this is a well-written post. I disagree with the characterization of the state of Israel as a "monster," but I think that its rather monstrous behavior as the right-wing fanatics have gotten ahold of it is right on the money. I am also in agreement with you and Dylan about the much understated and under-acknowledged role of the Israeli right-wing in deliberately facilitating Hamas' rise to power.

posted by writersjourney on February 4, 2006 at 11:32 PM | link to this | reply

Correction: Paragraph 2, sentence 1, I should have written

"necessarily fosters."

posted by Dyl_Pickle on January 31, 2006 at 8:02 PM | link to this | reply

Agree completely with the last paragraph.

But I don't think Israel is necessarily a monster nor that Israel created Hamas. Israel helped cause Hamas, but did not alone create the group. There is a certain amount of anti-Semitism that will express itself no matter what. It existed before Israel was created -- no Zionist Jewish provocation was needed for the Holocaust to happen, pure senseless propaganda did fine -- and will continue to exist whether or not Israel does.

I am not completely enamored of the idea of an ethnic/religious state because I think it necessary fosters invidious discrimination (a Jewish state will almost certainly discriminate against Gentiles, a Gentile state against Jews, etc., so best to have states devoted equally to all lawful citizens) but to abolish Israel as we know it would probably do more harm than good. And as long as Israel exists there, some Palestinians will violently object. What is tragic is that the right-wing Israeli faction has gone out of its way to escalate the conflict by giving moderate Palestinians good reason to be angry. It is just as senseless to say that Israeli concessions would not eventually dampen terrorism as it is to say that Israeli concessions would end all terrorism.

posted by Dyl_Pickle on January 31, 2006 at 8:01 PM | link to this | reply