Hamas: We'll Stop Attacks If You Recognize Our Unity Gov't
Haaretz reports:
If Israel agrees to persuade the international community not to boycott the new Palestinian unity government, the Palestinians “will offer a promise from Hamas and Fatah of a total cease-fire with Israel, including a complete halt to Qassam [rocket] fire and suicide bombings,” a senior Hamas official told Haaretz on Tuesday.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas plans to deliver this offer at his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian sources said. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, thought according to the Palestinians, the date has not yet been finalized.
However, the Hamas official warned, if Israel presses for a continuation of the international boycott and refuses to work with the unity government, the existing partial cease-fire will be in danger.
OK, I have a serious question: is it me or does this seem like blackmail? Stop the boycott and we will stop injuring/killing your people or we will do nothing.
how about like a normal group of people they promise to actually recognize israel and not just not-attack it. its stunning. “you demand of us all that you demand of every country? preposterous!”
I am still a little mystified why recognition is at the heart of so many arguments about the conflict. Given (a) the agreement of Hamas to negotiate with Israel, then why does that not (b) de facto “recognize” Israel?
If we want to have a “recognition” discussion, how about Israel recognize the right of the state of Palestine to exist? It’s a bit cockeyed if you ask me, which only showcases the superior bargaining position that the State of Israel uses to forestall any meaningful agreements regarding settlements.
Chaim (Chris) – Sure it’s blackmail. Just as it’s blackmail when Israel says they will end the occupation/stop assassinating people/etc. when Hamas does what Israel demands
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Johnny Kosher – Israel demands that Hamas must agree to first recognize Israel, second to end all violence, third to accept past agreements. One never reads a mention in the mainstream media of the fact that the United States and Israel reject all three of those. They obviously don’t recognize Palestine, they certainly don’t withdraw the use of violence or the threat of it — in fact they insist on it — and they don’t accept past agreements, including the road map. anything in the mainstream that discusses the fact that Israel instantly rejected the road map with U.S. support. They formally accepted it but added 14 reservations that totally eviscerated it.
Overlooking for the moment that political parties don’t recognize countries, which Israel should Hamas recognize? The Israel in the UN partition plan? The Israel in the 1967 borders? Or the Israel shown in the Israeli school books which don’t show the green line at all, and seems to contain the entire West Bank ?
John Brown,
“Overlooking for the moment that political parties don’t recognize countries, which Israel should Hamas recognize?”
Uhh…what? Plenty of political parties recognize countries. And when that political party happens to be in control of a territory and people who are the subject of negotiations that Israel is being compelled by the international community to engage in, I’d say asking that party to recognize Israel is not so outrageous a demand.
(I could go so far as to say you have it backward: Why should a country (Israel) recognize a collection of political parties (the Palestinians) as a country? But I won’t go there. You seem to have settled on mutual-and-equal-right-of-Palestinians-and-Israel-to-recognition-as-legitimate-nations as your point of departure. I won’t say I disagree, but would remind you that this is matter of debate, rather than a point of consensus.)
RC
PS Our disagreements re: Israel/Palestine aside, I feel you were robbed on the White Rapper Show. Serch showed a clear bias.
Yeah Serch must be one of those self-hating whiteys
that’s racist.