Little Girl: Dad, how come we have to stay in this cold and barren room under the ground?
Dad: Because some really bad people are shooting rockets at us.
Little Girl: But what is it that they want?
Dad: They want us out of Gaza
Little Girl: But didn’t we leave Gaza already? Didn’t we disassemble all our settlements and withdrew our military in 2005?
Dad: Yes we did.
Little Girl: So what do they want?
Writing this I must interject and ask: what is it that Hamas really wants from Israel?
- Hamas has significant differences with the PLO. The ideology of Hamas is a synthesis of pan-Arab Islamic religious ideals and Palestinian nationalism. Hamas states its intent to establish an Islamic state in Palestine and its covenant draws heavily upon Islamic ideology and Quranic verses. The PLO charter, on the other hand, is a secular document with a call to Palestinian nationalism. Senior PLO officials have said that they will install a western style democratic form of government in an independent Palestine. 10
- Both charters say that Israel must be forced from all of what was known as `Palestine’ prior to 1947 (the 1922 League of Nations mandate included what is now Israel, Jordan, and the occupied territories; the British later changed this to exclude the Kingdom of Jordan east of the Jordan River), and that armed force is the only way to bring that about–Hamas uses the term `jihad’ or religious war. 11 However, in late 1989, the PLO changed its position in regard to a Palestinian state and expressed willingness to accept a state comprising the West Bank and Gaza in confederation with Jordan and the continued existence of Israel. It has since been negotiating indirectly with Israel on the basis of land for peace and UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. Willingness to negotiate with Israel over territory is probably the most significant difference between the PLO and Hamas. It is possible, though no by no means clear, that differences over the form of government could be negotiated.
- Hamas relies heavily upon its use of violence. This is clear from the content of pamphlets regularly distributed throughout the occupied territories since the first month of Hamas existence. The pamphlets include statements such as: `increase attacks with knives, grenades, and guns against the cowardly Jews in their houses and turn the day into darkness and the nights into intolerable hell * * * view every Jewish settler as a target to be killed, whose blood and money are for the taking.’ 12
- Palestinians in the West Bank apparently favor the PLO over Hamas, but Hamas’ popularity among Gaza’s 750,00 Palestinians has grown over the past five years to a point where Hamas has seriously challenged the PLO for popular support. On several occasions armed clashes have broken out between followers of the two factions in that area. Most observers believe that should Hamas supplant the PLO as spokesman for the Palestinians in the territories, it would mean the end of the peace talks with Israel and open warfare between Hamas and Fatah. 13
http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/931014-hamas.htm
Dad: I hate to break it to you dear, but it would seem that Hamas wants us all dead. They want to inherit our entire country and establish their own based on the Muslim law.
Another conversation in another planet called Gaza:
Little Girl: Dad, why are we sitting here in the dark, with no food, and why are there airplanes in the sky dropping bombs at us?
Dad: It’s the Jews, they are punishing us collectively.
Little Girl: Is it possible that this activity has something to do with what you store in our basement? Is it possible they are after all these bombs?
The phone rings. A voice states in fluent Arabic: “if you want to live, leave the house within two minutes”.
Little Girl: Dad, lets get out of here. Lets tell the women and the children out of here. Lets save ourselves.
Dad: No way. The Jews will not drop bombs at civilians. We’re staying. We must protect our explosives.
A one ton bomb drops. Everyone dies.
What Dad didn’t know, is that according to the Geneva convention, any civilian place, used to store weapons or explosives, every civilian place used to launch a military action, immediately becomes a legitimate military target. Few armies around the world, the Israeli military is one of them, warn the residents and asks them to leave before destroying a building. Very few terrorist organizations, the Hamas is one of them, the Hizbullah is another, choose on purpose to conduct their activities deep within civilian populations, using innocent people, sometimes women and children as human shields.
Hamas leaders are well protected. They hid deep in the ground, and left their constituents to the mercy of the Israeli military. They left orders, which are being followed, to launch rockets at Israeli cities and towns, to facilities that have nothing with military actions.
Another conversation. Here in this very home.
Little Girl: Dad, are we safe here?
Dad: For now dear, for now. But I promise you I will do everything I can to protect you. I promise.
I don’t have a dog in this particular fight. But it does seem like there are some issues I have heard about here in the US:
* I heard that Hamas was relatively unpopular amongst the Palistinians until the current war began. With the bombardment, Hamas has now grown in popularity. Many fear that the result of the incursion will be similar to the result from the earlier incursion into Lebanon – greater power/popularity for Israel’s enemies.
* I also heard that there was a cease-fire negotiated between Israel and Hamas, with the understanding that sanctions would be lifted in exchange for peace. But sanctions have obviously not been lifted.
* Israel has seen as its right to establish settlements in Palestine, so the comment in pamphlets which say “view every Jewish settler as a target to be killed, whose blood and money are for the taking,” are brutal and ugly sure. I could understand such a sentiment, though of course I do not condone it.
Israel is losing the PR battle on this one internationally. Perhaps they don’t care. Seems like a small nation which depends heavily on the world’s positive feelings would care more. I have always felt that economic development is a better approach for Palestine rather than attempted domination.
Sorry my friend, a perspective from outside.