Hamas' Side

A truce between Israel and Hamas starts tomorrow. I certainly hope it works out, but I see no reason to be particularly optimistic.

According to an article in The New York Times, Hamas has been cracking down on life in Gaza, but is firmly in control. Not too surprising, since, as the article explains, Hamas has been deeply rooted there and the people see Fatah as corrupt (and sure don't think they can turn to anyone else). It's not unlike how a crime syndicate can run a neighborhood--they may be a bit rough, but the people look at them as the ones who get things done.

The Times seems to imply running a society has made Hamas more moderate and less ideological. What's their evidence? Well, one Fatah representative says they don't seem that different from Fatah. (This may tell us more about Fatah than Hamas.)

Here's how Hamas sees it:

Whereas Hamas says it will never recognize Israel, its leaders say that if Israel returned to the 1967 borders, granted a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem and dealt with the rights of refugees, Hamas would declare a long-term truce. This is not that different from what the rest of the Arab world says or the Fatah position in peace talks with Israel.

So that's their offer. If Israel gives them absolutely everything (including what amounts to the end of the state of Israel as presently constituted), Hamas might then agree to stop fighting. As usual, Israel is required to do massive, tangible deeds for an organization dedicated to its destruction, in return for words, very possibly empty words.

One woman interviewed for the story sums up the problem pretty well, if unwittingly:

"Israel is trying to pressure us to make us forget that the real problem is the occupation [...]. Hamas was elected like any government and never given the chance to govern. Life is hard here but it has never exactly been perfect. We can take it. The Koran teaches that in the end we will be victorious.”

She's got it backward. As unimaginable as this is to her, and to practically everyone she knows, Israel isn't the "real" problem. They can be dealt with. It's the hatred she holds in her heart that's preventing things from moving forward. If they could accept Israel, the Palestinians could have land, peace and prosperity. But why bother? As long as this woman can nurse her hatred, and hold dear in her heart the hope for an enemy's destruction, and be supported by most of the world which instead demands Israel offer up its neck, how is it she'll ever change?