Israel Matzav

Times of London: All Hamas wants is a 'just resolution'

This article is beyond belief. The Times of London runs an op-ed piece by one William Sieghart, described as chairman of an 'independent conflict resolution agency,' who claims that Gaza is a secular society and that Hamas will recognize Israel's 'right to exist' once a 'just resolution' of the 'Palestinian question' is found. Pardon me, but Mr. Sieghart is a moron (Hat Tip: Memeorandum and Hot Air).

In the five years that I have been visiting Gaza and the West Bank, I have met hundreds of Hamas politicians and supporters. None of them has professed the goal of Islamising Palestinian society, Taleban-style. Hamas relies on secular voters too much to do that. People still listen to pop music, watch television and women still choose whether to wear the veil or not.

The political leadership of Hamas is probably the most highly qualified in the world. Boasting more than 500 PhDs in its ranks, the majority are middle-class professionals - doctors, dentists, scientists and engineers. Most of its leadership have been educated in our universities and harbour no ideological hatred towards the West. It is a grievance-based movement, dedicated to addressing the injustice done to its people. It has consistently offered a ten-year ceasefire to give breathing space to resolve a conflict that has continued for more than 60 years.

Josef Mengele was a medical doctor too. In fact, Hitler's Third Reich was full of doctors, dentists, scientists and engineers. That didn't stop the Holocaust.

Mr. Sieghart may have visited the West Bank and Gaza 100 times in the last five years, but he has obviously never opened a Koran or bothered to examine any of Hamas' propaganda. Here's an example of what Hamas tells their 'people.' This appeared on Hamas' al-Aqsa Television station on July 13, 2008. Maybe Mr. Sieghart was in London that day. Let's go to the videotape.



That doesn't sound like they're just seeking a 'solution' to the 'Palestinian question' unless it's Adolph Hitler's final solution. And by the way, the ten-year 'cease fire' isn't just a mutual 'cease fire.' It requires Israel to give up something real - land - in return for it. By the way, Mr. Sieghart, it's called a hudna in Arabic. Do you know what the Koran says about hudnas?

Political Islam finds a number of examples in the life of Prophet Muhammad that sanction the use of treaties as a tactical necessity. In explaining why he signed the Oslo Accord, Yasser Arafat cited a truce signed by Prophet Muhammad with the Meccan tribe Quraish at Hudaybiyah in 628 C.E. According to the PLO leader, Prophet Muhammad had signed the truce when he was not strong enough to win a war and it was to last for ten years. But when, within two years of the signing, the Muslims felt that they have gained enough strength to defeat the Quraish, they broke the truce, attacked the Quraish and captured Mecca.

A prominent Saudi sheikh, 'Abd Al-Muhsin Al-'Obikan, also referred to the same treaty while condemning Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon. He issued the edict against Hezbollah's actions not because he considered them wrong but because in his view Muslims, at the moment, are not strong enough to defeat Israel. He said that since the Muslims have no chance of winning this campaign against the Jews, a temporary solution is necessary - a truce similar to the temporary truce of Hudaybiyya.

According to the Saudi Sheikh, Islamic laws (Shari'a) also "place preconditions and constraints on the declaring of jihad, which must be considered in order to ensure the greatest gain for the nation and spare it loss - [that is,] in order to ensure the minimum possible damage and avoid greater damage.

One of the preconditions regarding jihad [states] that the [the jihad fighters] must have [sufficient] capability to inflict harm on the enemy and to repulse its evil, so as to ensure the lives, the property, and the honor of the Muslims and to safeguard them from aggression or harm, that is, [from] destruction of property, from violation of honor, and from bloodshed."

Those who understand the Islamist ethos know that for political Islam, disengagement, a cease-fire, or a pull back on the part of the "enemy" is a sign of its weakness. No one has more experience with this treacherous mindset than the Israelis.

Mr. Sieghart gets the recent 'quiet period' wrong too:

Six months ago the Israeli Government agreed to an Egyptian- brokered ceasefire with Hamas. In return for a ceasefire, Israel agreed to open the crossing points and allow a free flow of essential supplies in and out of Gaza. The rocket barrages ended but the crossings never fully opened, and the people of Gaza began to starve. This crippling embargo was no reward for peace.

No, the rocket barrages didn't end. They continued. The rockets were less frequent, but two or three rockets per day create enough uncertainty that life cannot carry on normally. Try it for a couple of weeks Mr. Sieghart. And by the way, 'crippling embargo?' If things in Gaza were so bad, please explain why this supermarket was so well-stocked in September.


By the way, Mr. Sieghart, in case you don't recognize the 'babe' in the picture, her name is Lauren Booth and she's your former Prime Minister's sister-in-law. Did she have something to do with the pernicious crap you published in the Times of London? Inquiring minds want to know.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:37 PM