According to Israel Channel 2 this morning (via the Jerusalem Post), Hamas is offering a hudna — temporary Islamic truce not to be confused with real peace — of ten years in return for a ceasefire, release of prisoners (the “gentle folk” Israel released in the first place in return for kidnapped soldier Schalit and then rearrested when Hamas went berserk), opening of the Israel-Gaza border crossing (which hadn’t been entirely closed anyway) and international supervision of the Gaza naval blockade (so that Israelis presumably won’t notice the new missiles coming in — shall they charge a restocking fee?).
The poor dears are also upset they are being ganged up on by Israel and Egypt. They want negotiations handled by Turkey and Qatar. Never mind that Turkey’s Erdogan is sounding like Hitler Junior while appealing to the Islamic rabble on the campaign trail. Israel is supposed to accept him as an honest broker.
Well, since someone is apparently negotiating, how about this for a simple, bottom-line Israeli demand: remove all paragraphs about the destruction of Israel from the Hamas charter?
I know, I know, it’s asking a lot of those religious psychopaths from Hamas to give up on jihad murder for some nation building of their own (they have a helluva lot of prime oceanfront property despite what the reactionary Jon Stewart on The Daily Show would have us believe). But why not put it out there? Hudnas are nonsense that no one believes. Don’t pretend to make peace. Make peace.
But no, the Palestinians continue to live out the famous dictum of Golda Meir: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”
Meanwhile, Stewart, and others of his ilk, due to their overweening moral narcissism, continue to see the Palestinians as victims when they are only victims of themselves and their leaders. If Hamas were to make real peace — not a hudna — as many have pointed out, they could turn Gaza into Singapore. But they have chosen not to.
Israel will actually be doing the Palestinian people a favor if they destroy Hamas. But no one wants to see unnecessary bloodshed. The Gazans would be smart to heed the following leaflet being dropped over them Wednesday morning:
From these areas, rocket fire is being launched against the State of Israel. For your safety, you are requested to leave your homes immediately and travel towards Gaza City by Wednesday at 8 a.m. The IDF does not wish to harm you or your families. Clear the area to safeguard your lives. Do not return to the area until further notice. Anyone who does not heed these instructions… endangers his life and that of his family.
Gaza City is apparently the safety zone — for now.
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image illustration via shutterstock / serdar bayraktar
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