# Is Hamas ready to give peace a chance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 3, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hamas-ready-to-give-peace-a-chance/277900 "2004-12-03T15:29:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hamas-ready-to-give-peace-a-chance/277900/21 "2004-12-04T21:42:07Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > Please do share your opinions. As somebody who lives in Israel, your input would be valued in this thread. And thanks for those sites - I guess I need to brush up on my hebrew. OK, I’ll try. First off, I’m assuming it’s all politics and semantics until proven otherwise. Yet I know also that even the greatest changes in history often started out as political compromises that took on a life of their own (Magna Carta, anyone?) - so this alone is not reason enough to rule out the chances of a real change taking place. So I don’t know. Second, I think that we may be exaggerating the novelty of the Hamas position. From [the original Ha’Aretz article](http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=hassan+yussef&itemNo=509841): > [@Ha'Aretz](#): > > Yousef said the Hamas position was new **and called it a “stage.”** In the past, Hamas has said it would accept a state in the 1967 borders **as a first step to taking over Israel**. Yousef did not spell out the conditions for the renewable cease-fire nor did he say how long it would last. > > “For us a truce means that two warring parties live side by side in peace and security **for a certain period** and this period is eligible for renewal,” Yousef said. “That means Hamas accepts that the other party will live in security and peace.” (bolding mine) So, essentially all that Hassan Yousef - if taken in the worst light possible - might be saying here is that Hamas is willing to stop terrorism for a period of time if they gat a Palestinian State in the OT, presumably until they feel strong enough to take on Israel proper. Hassan Yousef himself has, in fact, endorsed this POV earlier today (see [here](http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3013508,00.html), on _Yedioth Ahronot_’s internet site [Sorry, Hebrew only]) - my lousy translation of it is: > [@Hassan Yousef on YNet](#): > > הודנה פירושה ששני הצדדים יכולים לחיות זה לצד זה לתקופה מוגדרת, שיכולה להיות מוארכת", הבהיר השייח’ חסן יוסף. "אבל הקמת המדינה > הפלסטינית בשטחי 67’ היא רק צעד ראשון לקראת הכללת האדמות שנכבשו ב-1948 בתוך המדינה הפלסטינית > > “For us a truce means that two warring parties live side by side in peace and security for a certain period and this period is eligible for renewal” (note: this is identical to the beginning of the quote from Ha’Aretz - Dani). > “But the establishment of a Palestinian State in the 1967 areas is only the first step toward the inclusion of the areas taken in 1948 within the Palestinian State” I suspect that yesterday’s quote was a trial run, to see how the new line flies. Apparently it didn’t fly too well with the Hamas establishment in Lebanon (who expressed “surprise” at Yousef’s statement), so he backed down. Like I said, it’s all politics. The good news is that following Arafat’s death, the PA leadership appears to be taking a more pragmatic approach to the situation, and the latest from Hamas indicates that maybe they are being force to change their tune somewhat as well. As I noted above, political compromise has a nasty (or good - depends how you look at it) habit to turn into reality if that is what the population wants. Does the Palestinian population, post Arafat, want fewer martyrs and more life? Will they truly accept the long term reality of Israel alongside them as along as they get a truly independent state? Will the Plaestinian leadership allow this shift in public opinion to take root and affect their behavior? (and, as an aside, will the current Israeli government even be able to identify if something like this is really happening, and will it be willing and able to at on it?) All these are questions to which I have no answer. After Arafat’s death we are all - leaders and prolls alike - in uncharted waters. I’ve lost my gut feeling for where any particular turn of events may lead us a few weeks or months down the road… Bottom line, after a tremendously long-winded post, is that I simply **don’t know** where things are going right now. Dani [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hamas-ready-to-give-peace-a-chance/277900.md?page=1)