More Than "Palestinian Defeat" Required for Peace

Submitted by Mike Ramirez, Dec 19, 2016 at 18:10

With all due respect, Dr. Pipes, it will take much more than an "Israeli Victory and Palestinian Defeat" in order to bring true and lasting peace to that region. It will take defeating Hamas and the mindset of the entire Islamic ideology.

Let us first recall the words of Israel's Patriarch, King David, where he stated: "Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war. (Psalm 120:6-7) NIV

The point is that this enmity has been going on ever since the Hebrew people entered into the Promised Land that was Divinely granted to them, as stated in Genesis:35:12: "And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land."

Fast-forward to modern days when the region including what is now the nation of Israel was named "Palestine" after World War 1. Conflicts then escalated when Israel became a nation in 1948 and the Arabs (Palestinians) and entire Muslim world refused to recognize Israel as a nation

As a result, it appears that the Palestinians have been "political pawns" for the Islamic group, Hamas, and the Islamic world overall. Perhaps this is why the Arab/Muslim countries do not want to accept the Palestinians; they need the Palestinians to stay where they are. This gives Hamas their ideological excuse to claim that they have the exclusive right to Israel and make it appear that Israel does not want peace when, to the contrary, it is really Hamas that does not want to make peace at all. The Hamas Covenant of 1988 reflects their ideology and pretty much speaks for itself, as follows: (excerpts)

Preamble (excerpt):

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory)."

Introduction: "...This Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), clarifies its picture, reveals its identity, outlines its stand, explains its aims, speaks about its hopes, and calls for its support, adoption and joining its ranks. Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah's victory is realised."

Ideological Starting-Points

Article 1: "The Islamic Resistance Movement: The Movement's programme is Islam. From it, it draws its ideas, ways of thinking and understanding of the universe, life and man. It resorts to it for judgement in all its conduct, and it is inspired by it for guidance of its steps.

Article 8: "Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes."

Article 13: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with."

Conclusion: The entire Muslim world including Hamas will continue to defy a "peace process" as evidenced in their own Covenant which can be read at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".