The other day I saw a rally for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war. From the posters on display, it appeared that there were both pro-Palestinians and peace-seeking Jews in attendance. There were impassioned speeches about the atrocities from both sides and fervent calls for an immediate cease-fire.
I’m hard-pressed to understand how either side would agree to a ceasefire. What would either side gain? Hamas has a public position calling for the destruction of Israel and uses the current situation for propaganda purposes. Israel’s public position is the destruction of Hamas. But are impossible in the short run. Even if Israel could eliminate Hamas, whack a mole would ensue. A successor group would emerge. Hamas could not destroy Israel without help from sympathetic groups or countries with better firepower.
In all I’ve read, I haven’t seen anyone with even the vaguest REALISTIC proposal that could end this conflict. It’s not clear to me that Hamas wants to terminate the crisis. They thrive as an oppositional force and their attempts to run Gaza as a government do not appear to be in the best interests of the Gazans, but seem to be focused solely on the destruction of Israel.
Anyone with a workable idea on ending this crisis, please speak up or leave a comment.
Note: In the New York Times of Wednesday, February 14, Tom Friedman proposes a solution. Read it here. What do you think?