Hamas's Legal Rights
(See here) a Haaretz article that reports on what Hamas thinks are "their rights" to continue armed resistance.
As an example of how I think Hamas defines legitimate resistance, I would imagine that Hamas "the terrorists" want to be able to conduct suicide bombings while Hamas "the political party" is held blameless and is free from reprisals. Come on now, Israel is supposed to hold her fire while the Palestinian government engages in this type of warfare against them?
We are not talking about just any warfare, we are talking about suicide bombings against civilian targets. There is no military value in targeting a discotheque or pizza parlor. We're not talking about collateral damage, we talking about deliberate attacks upon a civilian population. Just what part of international law does Hamas thinks allows this?
Hamas is now the freely elected representative of the Palestinian people. If the Palestinian people, through a Hamas led government, continues to wage war in an unacceptable fashion, then I say there is hell to pay.
As long as Hamas continues to insist on unreasonable, official, positions that hold no hope of fruitful negotiations? Well I am going to be amongst those who turn a deaf ear to anything the "official representatives" of the Palestinian people have to say.
I am willing to meet unreasonableness with unreasonableness and you want to know something? I think the Prophet might have done the same. What did the Prophet say? "Be harsh with them?" And when he spoke those words he was speaking about being harsh with whom?
I will close with another quote from the Prophet. Words of wisdom. "If they want peace we will give them peace, and if they want want war we will give them war." If Hamas wants a war, I say we give the Palestinian people what they voted for.
Armed resistance is a legal right and method of achieving Palestinian rights,OK, armed resistance is "a right". Hamas will not get much argument from me on that point. Legitimate resistance is "a right". But just where do we draw the line? How do we define "legitimate resistance"? Something tells me that my own definition is going to leave Hamas swinging in the breeze. What Hamas wants the international community to allow ain't going to happen. Personally I object to Hamas thinking they could conduct resistance that I would call resistance and expecting Israel should be forced to hold fire, however the international community might be more forgiving of them then I would be.
Hamas announced yesterday in its proposed platform for the next Palestinian
government.
As an example of how I think Hamas defines legitimate resistance, I would imagine that Hamas "the terrorists" want to be able to conduct suicide bombings while Hamas "the political party" is held blameless and is free from reprisals. Come on now, Israel is supposed to hold her fire while the Palestinian government engages in this type of warfare against them?
We are not talking about just any warfare, we are talking about suicide bombings against civilian targets. There is no military value in targeting a discotheque or pizza parlor. We're not talking about collateral damage, we talking about deliberate attacks upon a civilian population. Just what part of international law does Hamas thinks allows this?
Hamas is now the freely elected representative of the Palestinian people. If the Palestinian people, through a Hamas led government, continues to wage war in an unacceptable fashion, then I say there is hell to pay.
As long as Hamas continues to insist on unreasonable, official, positions that hold no hope of fruitful negotiations? Well I am going to be amongst those who turn a deaf ear to anything the "official representatives" of the Palestinian people have to say.
I am willing to meet unreasonableness with unreasonableness and you want to know something? I think the Prophet might have done the same. What did the Prophet say? "Be harsh with them?" And when he spoke those words he was speaking about being harsh with whom?
I will close with another quote from the Prophet. Words of wisdom. "If they want peace we will give them peace, and if they want want war we will give them war." If Hamas wants a war, I say we give the Palestinian people what they voted for.
posted by Little David at 3/13/2006 12:56:00 PM
1 Comments:
You've hit the "spot" with this article.
"Armed resistance" is a right, though unfortunately, it is only legal retrospectively if you "win". For example, the IRA.
"Legal armed resistance" against Israel? Not very likely.
Against a regional military power like Israel, the best thing for the Palestinians is to take the line of Ghandi - passive civil disobedience. I could almost guarantee if Palestinians went into rolling hunger strikes and sitdowns (and dropped their arms), they would probably get much more favourable borders and get there with much fewer casualties.
Unfortunately, this will never happen.
Regards,
Michael Tam
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