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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan | |
| Hamas spokesman voices rare optimism regarding Gaza truce | |
| 2008-06-21 | |
| 'Nothing is impossible,' said Palestinian parliament member and Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Salah al-Bardawil, about the possibility of a peace agreement between Israel and his organization in wake of the cease-fire, or tahadiyeh, that took effect Thursday. While many in Israel are pessimistic about its chances of success, things look a little different on the Palestinian side, and in Hamas in particular. Unlike some of his Hamas colleagues, Bardawil does not act horrified when hearing the words 'peace' and 'Israel' put together. 'The Arab world has already outstretched its hand for peace with the Israelis in the past,' he says. 'The ideas of Ahmed Yassin [Hamas' founder and former leader], who supported a cease-fire for some 15-20 years, focused on peace, not war. Hamas people who insist that there will never be peace with Israel do so because they are skeptical about the intentions of Israel's leadership. Everyone on your side is saying that the hudna [truce] is an opportunity for Hamas to narrow the military gap, but it's actually a historic opportunity for Israel and for all the sides involved to live in peace, and to build a future for the next generations.' Still, Bardawil, 49, a literature professor from Khan Yunis who has been a member of Hamas for the past 20 years, is careful not to sound overly optimistic. In a telephone conversation, he says: 'After years of fighting, each side has doubts about the other side's seriousness in upholding the cease-fire. Your side says that the small factions are liable to blow it to pieces, but they have all pledged to abide by it. Experience shows that when Hamas commits to something, it makes sure to keep its promises.' And if rockets are fired at Israel? What will you do with the people responsible? Bardawil: 'I'm not going to say that we'll start deploying forces at the border and turn into the Palestinian Authority, which works to safeguard Israel's security interest. But we made a decision that anyone who fires rockets at Israel will be doing so without our approval. We'll let the organization with which he is affiliated deal with him. If it's someone who doesn't belong to any organization, measures will be taken against him. Anyone who violates the factions' decision on the cease-fire is harming the Palestinian interest and we will deal with him accordingly.'
'Today, the relations between Israel and Hamas are those of enemies,' Bardawil explains. 'But during past negotiations between Hamas and Fatah we agreed on 'the national reconciliation agreement,' which declares that the Palestinian state will be established within the 1967 borders. Israel mustn't pass up such an agreement with Hamas - otherwise an ideology more extreme than Hamas will be the result. Israel has to understand that nowadays, Hamas is a factor that balances the radical and out-of-control voices in both the Arab and the Muslim world.' However, it's hard to ignore the more hawkish voices in Hamas, which see the cease-fire as little more than a timeout, allowing the organization to build up its military forces in anticipation of the future - when they envision wiping Israel off the map. But according to Bardawil, the Hamas members who speak in such terms are merely voicing religious ideas. 'It's impossible to change religious beliefs,' he says. 'But the conflict between us and Israel is political and not religious.' So why don't you recognize Israel? 'We won't repeat Fatah's mistakes and get into the whole adventure of recognizing Israel. To this day, the borders of this state remain uncertain. It's too early to talk about negotiations with Israel. The cease-fire is a kind of de facto recognition of this entity, just as Israel recognizes the existence of Hamas. We cannot deny the reality of its existence.' Who's the winner and who's the loser when it comes to the cease-fire? 'The agreement meets the interests of both sides. No one won, but the truce benefits both Israel and Hamas. It's only natural for each side to try to portray the move as a victory for itself and to boast of its achievements. In the end, everyone gains. Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to the cease-fire.' | |
| Posted by:Fred |