TEL AVIV — AFTER nearly three weeks of fighting — notwithstanding the 12-hour pause announced early this morning by Israel — it is time to revisit some basic assumptions about Hamas. Until now, Israel assumed Hamas was the “devil we know,” capable of attacks that were mostly [...]
Published under ‘onevoice & middle east’
Without a diplomatic maneuver alongside the ground maneuver being performed by the IDF, the battle against Hamas will not end in the near future. Even if a ceasefire is reached in the coming days, it will reflect the absence of a real military victory and will set the [...]
In recent years, two narratives developed in Israel regarding its face-off against the Hamas movement. According to the first one, Hamas is a terrorist organization and, therefore, classic anti-terror tactics must be used to fight it. The second narrative, formed after Hamas took over the [...]
Encountering peace: Identifying when a crisis can become an opportunity
Published under Israel, Middle East, Palestine Jul 23, 2014Brig.- general S, a Palestinian in the Palestinian Liberation Army, spent his whole adult life fighting Israel. In 1993 Yasser Arafat, his leader, signed the Olso agreement and turned S’s world upside down. Not only that, Arafat appointed him to be the first Palestinian officer [...]
Hamas leaders have been often seen in recent days talking about the suffering of the residents of Gaza. But while most Palestinians are faced with shortages and restrictions on movement in the Gaza Strip, this is far from the case for officials from Hamas, which [...]
Netanyahu, the reluctant warrior
Published under Gaza, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations Jul 21, 2014Netanyahu, the reluctant warrior Hamas deliberately places its tunnel entrances in hospitals, schools and mosques: Israel has no choice but to use ground forces to shut them down. By Alan M. Dershowitz | Jul. 20, 2014 | 5:01 PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the primary goal of the current ground incursion into Gaza [...]
Hamas got rich as Gaza was plunged into Poverty
Published under Gaza, Global, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations, Palestine Jul 18, 2014Read the full piece after the jump. On Sunday, after it was cleared for publication that six suspects had been arrested in the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the youth from Shuafat, harsh condemnation statements were issued by the ministers of Bayit Yehudi party and other right-wing politicians. Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett took one step further than [...]
Denouncing Arab youth’s murder is not enough
Published under Global, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations, Palestine Jul 18, 2014Read the full piece after the jump. On Sunday, after it was cleared for publication that six suspects had been arrested in the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the youth from Shuafat, harsh condemnation statements were issued by the ministers of Bayit Yehudi party and other right-wing politicians. Bayit Yehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett took one step further than [...]
Quote of the Week: Requirements for Peace
Published under Favorite Quotes, Introspection, Israel Jul 18, 2014“We must think differently, look at things in a different way. Peace requires a world of new concepts, new definitions.” -Yitzhak Rabin
Abbas and moderates on both sides are suffering from the Hamas-Bennett war
Published under Gaza, Global, Israel, Middle East, Mideast Negotiations, OneVoice Movement, Palestine Jul 14, 2014Two painfully poignant articles came across my email box indicating the resentment Palestinians have towards President Abbas for participating in a peace conference in Israel amidst the war with Hamas in Gaza, and Hamas’s fury that Abbas has not done more to support them. It is true that Abbas is stuck in between, and weakened [...]