Why recognize Israel?

[Englander]

By Danny Rubinstein

Israel's stance against recognizing a Palestinian government composed primarily of Hamas members who do not recognize Israel seems completely understandable. Why should Israel recognize the Hamas movement, which has been declared a terror organization by the countries of the world and whose basic charter claims that "the Zionist entity" has no right to exist?

The Hamas charter was composed after the first intifada erupted in 1987 - that is, nearly 20 years ago, and it reflects a different Palestinian political reality than the one existing today. This does not make much difference to the State of Israel. A substantial Israeli and international effort was invested in the past to convince the PLO to revise its national charter and recognize Israel. A similar demand is now directed at Hamas. Is this movement capable of change?

>snip

Most of the Palestinian public is not demanding that Hamas recognize Israel. This, at least, is what a reliable survey conducted in the territories indicates. The explanation for this is expressed by Hamas spokesmen in every corner, from Rafah to Jenin, and is very accepted in the territories: Look, Yasser Arafat and the PLO recognized the State of Israel in the Oslo agreement and what did they gain from that? Only suffering and misfortune.

The economic siege on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the targeted killings, the raids and checkpoints can be explained as an Israeli defense against terror attacks. But how can one explain the doubling of the number of settlers in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the Madrid conference and Oslo agreement? Since the 1996 elections in Israel, and almost through the end of Ehud Barak's government, there was quite a long period of quiet on the security front. There were almost no terror attacks. During that period, as before, the great momentum of settlement continued. The population of settlers grew from 100,000 to over 200,000 during the 1990s.

When the Israelis build large new neighborhoods in East Jerusalem (Har Homa and Reches Shlomo), expand the neighborhoods and settlements in the Muslim part of the Old City, in Silwan, Ras al-Amud and Sheikh Jarrah, expel Arabs from the city and surround them with tens of thousands of Jewish settlers in a tight belt from Upper Beitar in the south, via Ma'ale Adumim in the east and Givat Ze'ev in the north - this conveys a clear message: There is no chance that the capital of the Palestinian state will be established anywhere in Jerusalem. If you add to this the growth of settlements in Samaria, Ariel, the suburbs of Ramallah, in an expanded Gush Etzion and Mount Hebron, the Israeli message becomes unequivocal: You Palestinians have no chance. You recognized Israel and what you received in return was the liquidation of your national hopes. So why should Hamas repeat the same recognition whose results we have already seen?

More at;
Haaretz

[furman]

1. CAMERA's response: Ha'aretz's 'Quiet' Myth

http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=1204


Ha'aretz's 'Quiet' Myth
September 25, 2006
by Tamar Sternthal

"Since the 1996 elections in Israel, and almost through the end of Ehud Barak's government, there was quite a long period of quiet on the security front. There were almost no terror attacks," asserts Ha'aretz's Danny Rubinstein in an http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/766429.html">Op-Ed today ("Why recognize Israel?"). In this so-called period of quiet in which supposedly "almost no terror attacks" were carried out, some 63 Israelis were killed in more than 40 terror attacks including stabbings, bombings and shootings. The period in question begins in June 1996 and extends through 2000. (Barak's term ended in March 2001, but since Rubinstein does not specify what he considers "almost through the end of Ehud Barak's government," this analysis includes terror attacks through 2000.) Information on the scores of attacks during this period were taken from http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/terrorism-%20obstacle%20to%20peace/palestinian%20terror%20before%202000/">Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the database of the http://www.ict.org.il">Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

Some of the worst attacks include:

* Oct. 30,2000: Suicide bomb attack at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem kills 15 and injures 130

* Sept. 4, 1997: Suicide bomb attack in Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall kills five and wounds 181

* July 30, 1997: Two consecutive suicide bomb attacks kill 16 and wound 178 in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem

Other serious attacks in this period of "almost no terror attacks" include. (This is a partial list of attacks during this period):

* Dec. 28, 2000: A bomb on a Tel Aviv bus injures 14

* Dec. 22, 2000: A suicide bomb attack at a roadside cafJ in the Jordan Valley wounds 3

<snip>

On Feb. 28, 2005, Ha'aretz writer Sefi Rachlevsky also http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=858">wrote about four years of "nearly absolute quiet" during some unspecified point in 1990s, despite the fact that there was no such quiet. Likewise, Yossi Beilin, writing about his idyllic period, http://blog.camera.org/archives/2005/06/beilins_100_mar_1.html">claimed that "only 20 people were killed by hostile operations" during the period of 1957 to 1967, while the actual figure of fatalities was twice that amount (June 5, 2005).

more at http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=1204

[nicoll]

2. Palestinian state need to be created to give peace

The ham mas government is only a result of the continued actions of Israel against there weaker Palestinian refugee's neighbours in the west Bank and Gaza Strip. ONly by giving the Palestinians a state that is whole and not divided by land will a more moderate government arise from the newly formed state. This is within Israel capabilities to do and so it is up to Israel to change the dynamics of the palestinian people.

[Jim Sagle]

3. The Palestinians can change their own dynamics, thank you very much.

Just go ahead and declare a state and get about the business of governing and working.

[Tom Joad]

4. Where will this state be? Settlements must be dismantled first.

Thank you very much.

[Jim Sagle]

5. It can be done by negotations as well.

Be sure and try the veal.

[Tom Joad]

6. Israel has not negotiated for 4 years. and no thanks, I'm having

couscous.

[Jim Sagle]

7. Hardliners on both sides say that.

It's a position that promotes the status quo.

As for couscous, I ain't touchin' that one.