To Be or Not to Be - A Cease-Fire

IDF ground forces waiting to advance into Gaza

Rumblings are beginning to pressure Israel into accepting a cease-fire. Hamas appears to be trying through various parties to push for a cease-fire. At this stage, much depends on the US with Egypt playing an important role in drawing up a cease-fire agreement.

There is a problem for Israel to accept a cease-fire at this stage of Operation Protective Edge. In the past operations against Hamas in Gaza there were never any proper negotiations with Hamas and cease-fires were declared unilaterally by Israel only to be broken by Hamas after a short time. Hamas used the cease-fire to re-arm and provoke Israel into retaliation by firing rockets into Israel. This is the third operation against Hamas in Gaza within 6 years! Surely the Hamas aggression against innocent Israeli citizens between these operations by launching rockets deserves world condemnation which never came.

At the time of writing, the sounds of Israeli Air Force planes making their way to Gaza to carry out their sorties’ against Hamas are audible. This is interspersed with warning sirens warning people to go into bomb shelters. We are aware that our lives and routines are full of upheavals and stress. Israelis are well-disciplined by the home front to take shelter and not rely on the Iron Dome interceptors alone. It also brings home the message of the insensitivity of the evil Hamas regime to protect the Palestinian People in Gaza, apart from exposing them to the dangers to their lives, for propaganda purposes. If this is not evil cynicism to cheapening of Palestinian lives then what is?

Hamaswants a cease-fire desperately, but on their terms, which does not include cessation of hostilities against Israel or disarming. If Israel attacks Hamas bases surrounded by human shields is this an excuse for a cease-fire? Most of the launching of missiles on Israel comes from Hamas and Islamic Jihad bases protected by human shields. This Hamas cruel tactic has been verified by Israeli intelligence. It is the reason why the IDF warns the citizens of Gaza, who are living above basements of arms stores, to leave their homes before they attack. Hamas does not want their citizens to leave so that Israel could kill them. This evokes the sympathy of the world for Hamas against Israel. Naturally, the bleeding heart “human rights” activists” will refute this. They are charmed by Hamas lies that they filter out the truth to suit their naïve preconceptions.

We have no reason to believe that a premature, unilateral cease-fire will bring Hamas to its knees. It will give them legitimacy to re-arm and begin hostilities against Israel's citizens in the south after a year or two as had been the case in the past. This cannot be allowed to happen. However with much world pressure directed at Israel this scenario will occur within two years. History has a habit of repeating itself when the lessons learnt of past errors are not put into effect.

In my previous article I attacked the bleeding-hearted "human rights" activists who are prone to Hamas propaganda. They rather believe Hamas denials and lies, while attacking Israel.

The horrifying destruction of Gaza Palestinian homes and the killing of innocent people are due to Hamas. They are responsible for the massive human tragedy playing out in Gaza because of IDF activity. They ignored all warnings.

Hamas has done nothing for their people apart from increasing Palestinian suffering. The financial assistance they received were utilized for making bombs and bunkers for the elite in Hamas, while Palestinians were left exposed to the IDF retaliations as a result of Hamas missiles being fired into Israel. There were no programmes for infra-structure improvements, health services, or meaningful education apart from propaganda and poisoning the minds of small children, turning them into suicide bombers with intractable hatred for Israel and Jews.

The Egyptians have brokered a cease-fire. Israel has accepted it, but Hamas has not. Hamas is behaving as if they have won this war in Gaza. The cease-fire was to go into effect at 9.00 am on 15th July 2014. The deadline was 12 hours later. Operation Protective Edge has not ceased. The terms of cease-fire does not appeal to Hamas. They maintain that the fight for liberation of Palestinians from the “Israeli oppressor” must continue. According to them it is their right.

Hamas Terrorists

The cease-fire deal does limit Hamas up to a point. One would imagine that logically the terms of the cease-fire would include Hamas recognition of Israel's right to exist as well total disarmament of their terrorist groups. If these provisos are not included (which to date is not part of the cease-fire terms), the whole operation will be a failure and Hamas will re-arm and be ready for firing missiles into Israel within two to three years as was the case in the past.

Hamas does not accept the cease-fire and the operation continues. They do not care about the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, which is not surprising. Israel accepts the cease-fire.

Gaza after IDF bombings

Operation Protective Edge continues with more justification than ever before. What does the world expect Israel to do? Must Israel fold their arms, allow Hamas to fire rockets into Israel with the intention to kill innocent people because if they fire back they may hit innocent Palestinian human shields surrounding the Hamas weapon stores? That is the biggest moral question that remains unanswered.

It looks as if Hamas has given us all their answer: No cease-fire! To them it is no dilemma or moral question! The more innocent people - Israeli or Palestinian - that are killed, the happier they are. Israelis are protected by Iron Dome Interceptors and bomb shelters while Hamas are protected by human shields which turn into killing fields.

Meanwhile the missiles continue to fly into Israel while Israel Air Force planes retaliate by bombing human shield-protected weapon stores in Gaza. The moral dilemma that we have as Israelis is a tough one. The only way to solve that dilemma is for Hamas to accept a cease-fire and to disarm. The situation is intolerable for both sides. If only the Palestinians who oppose Hamas would re-group like the people of Tunisia and Egypt to plan overthrowing the evil Hamas regime. The demise of Hamas must come from the Palestinian people.

Palestinians of the Middle East, Arise!
You have nothing to lose but the chains of Hamas,
Who have shackled you from Freedom, Dignity, Peace and Coexistence with Israel
Inshallah!

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The Coupling of the Opposition and Ultra-Orthodox in Israel

A strange phenomenon, if not a paradox has occurred in Israeli politics. It is the coupling of the ultra-Orthodox parties with the left of center Labor Party. In my previous article, I mentioned the channeling of funds from ultra-Orthodox projects to Bayit Hayehudi settlement projects in the occupied West Bank. This has created a situation where the Shas and Torah Judaism Parties are becoming bedfellows of Labor.

The main reason for this new found cooperation is that Labor is not making an issue of conscription of the Haredim into the IDF. As I said, six of one (Zionist right wing religious Bayit Hayehudi Party) and half a dozen of the other (the ultra-Orthodox non-Zionist Parties) in the coalition is not in Israel's interests. The latter is preferable, as they have no problem with a two-state solution when it comes to peace with the Palestinians, as long as the government gives them money for their partisan projects.

The compulsory ballot is another trick in hypocrisy and stealth. It is also a populist tactic. Conscripting the ultra-Orthodox males would cost Israel an astronomical amount of money as the IDF would have to establish units that correspond to their lifestyle. This is in Kashrut, Torah study and rituals. In other words, the IDF would have to bend to the religious customs of the ultra-Orthodox conscripts rather than the other way round as in the case of secular and modern Orthodox conscripts. The government suspended financing the ultra-Orthodox projects but the Bennett Bayit Heyudi are getting the finances from the government for their own occupation projects such as settlement expansion, yeshivot, headed by extremist right wing racist rabbis as well as shortened army service (1 year and 5 months for those in Yeshivot Hesder) for the right wing, Zionist orthodox conscripts. Normal length of service for 18 year old males is 3 years. So where is the equality of burden in serving in the IDF? The right wing religious Zionists in the settlements beyond he green line have never had it so good. The priorities of the present government are financing further illegal settlement while decreasing financial aid to ultra-Orthodox projects.

The settlements in the West Bank are getting increased financial aid from the government. This makes the two-state solution more complicated to achieve.

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that people on both sides of the conflict have an increased feeling of frustration. The negotiating teams on both sides are getting nowhere. The antics on both sides are to please John Kerry without delivering the goods, each side for their own partisan reasons which do not coincide. The two-state solution is dying and before long it will enter the critical phase of rigor mortis which is the point of no return.

While the acrobatics of peace negotiations proceeds, Bibi Netanyahu harps on about Iran in order to digress from the real problems that need to be addressed. The main problems are Israel's security and the occupation. The latter is weakening Israel's stand in the world as well as its credibility and human rights record. While Israel is viewed as a colonialist power in the West Bank by its actions of building new settlements unabated, the threat to Israel's democracy will remain. Democracy within the green line exists while in the occupied territories it does not. The apartheid state similarity in the territories just cannot be concealed anymore. World opinion always sides with the victim (Palestinians) and not with the victor (Israel). While Israel remains an occupying power, it will always be under severe criticism because the settlers get all the privileges while the conquered get nothing. This is the differentiation which strengthens the slogan of Israel being an apartheid state.

It appears, from Haaretz reports, that the government is giving a large budget to the West Bank settler enterprise. This issue has been raised in the Knesset by MK Stav Shaffir of the Labor Party. This confirms suspicions that the government does not intend to freeze settlements in occupied territories. It also gives another message of "pseudo-sharing "of the national burden of conscription into the IDF. In reality, the illegal settlers in the territories will be getting increasing government aid. When ex-Shin Bet chief lambasts Netanyahu's Likud as "shallow",we should take him seriously.

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