continued at http://bouvardpecuchet.baywords.com/

The PA Dissolution Discourse

Caelum Moffatt for MIFTAH, 24.3.08. Under the stipulations of the roadmap, which was supposedly reactivated at Annapolis, Israel is obliged to cease settlement expansion. However, in the last four months Israel has expropriated thousands of dunums of Palestinian land and granted permission for over 1,500 housing units in the settlements of Pisgat Zeev, Givat Zeev and Har Homa, some 7,000 in Ein Yayul near Walaja and a proposed 3,500 between east Jerusalem and the Ma’aleh Adumim settlement. Although Israel claims that these settlements [illegal under international law] lie in the district of Jerusalem and therefore should not be included in their roadmap commitments, east Jerusalem is where Palestinians want to establish their capital. Furthermore, Israel persists on approving construction plans on settlement blocs in the West Bank and this does not include the outposts erected at the whim of Israeli settlers.
Although the Palestinian presidency has now deemed this as speculation, there are those who have gone further, such as Dr. Ali Jarbawi, who advocate the PA being dismantled completely.

If the two-state solution is ostensibly suffering by preserving the PA, what are the alternatives? Would it not be perceived as admitting defeat? Faced with these questions, advocates of dissolution believe that for a defeat to be incurred there has to be a battle preceding it and as Israel presides over everything, the belief that such a conflict exists is a naive misconception. Under this paradigm, the PA would officially present the “keys” of the West Bank to Israel and the UN, absolving them of responsibility and accepting their occupied status.

Israel would be forced to address their responsibilities as an occupying power under the international legal guidelines set by the Geneva Conventions without having the luxury of exploiting the PA as a “administrative contractor or security sub-agent” [a phrase used by this organization in a 2004 paper on this topic].

At this juncture, the dissolution theory should be seriously contemplated as an alternative to a stagnant peace process.

Palestine-Israel, Fourth year of Friday demonstrations in the joint struggle in Bil'in against the separation fence and occupation

Ilan Against the Wall, 22.3.08. It seems the Israeli state is accepting its defeat in its efforts to put end to the Friday demonstrations in Bil'in. This week we had witnessed again the continuance of the gradual de-escalation of the suppression of the Friday activity in Bil'in. We arrived in Bil'in from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, telling on the way to new comers about the long confrontations in the first years when the state forces tried to block the Israelis way to Bil'in - pointing on critical points on the way where activists of the anarchists against the wall initiative out smart them and succeeded to penetrate to Bil'in. On the way, the state force guarding the road blocks do not bother to even look at us. On the demonstration itself, the state force threatened us as usual, but they were not making too much efforts to back that by action.

Le Fatah et le Hamas, rivaux palestiniens, s'engagent à renouer le dialogue

Michel Bôle-Richard, Le Monde, 24.3.08. A peine signée, dimanche 23 mars, la "déclaration de Sanaa" a donné lieu à des interprétations différentes entre le Fatah et le Hamas. Pourtant, pour la première fois depuis la prise du pouvoir par la force des islamistes dans la bande de Gaza le 15 juin 2007, les deux mouvements palestiniens rivaux ont officiellement accepté, par l'entremise du Yémen, de renouer le dialogue. Après plusieurs jours de discussions tumultueuses dans la capitale yéménite Sanaa, les deux organisations sont convenues que l'heure de la réconciliation était venue et qu'il fallait tenter de trouver un modus vivendi lors de contacts officiels à partir du début d'avril. Mahmoud Abbas est placé devant cette situation cornélienne : tenter de réunifier les territoires palestiniens ou poursuivre avec Israël un processus de paix qui, pour le moment, n'a rien donné.

Paraphé par Azzam Al-Ahmad, chef du groupe parlementaire du Fatah, et Moussa Abou Marzouk, numéro deux du Hamas, en présence du président yéménite, Ali Abdallah Saleh, le document spécifie que "les mouvements Fatah et Hamas sont convenus de considérer l'initiative yéménite comme un cadre pour la reprise du dialogue en vue de revenir à la situation antérieure aux événements de Gaza (le coup de force du Hamas en juin 2007), afin de confirmer l'unité palestinienne en tant que peuple, terre et autorité".

Le plan proposé par le Yémen tient en sept points et prévoit notamment la tenue d'élections anticipées dans les territoires palestiniens, la reprise du dialogue sur la base des accords antérieurs - particulièrement ceux de La Mecque du 8 février 2007 qui avait conduit à la formation d'un gouvernement d'union nationale - et enfin à l'unification des forces de sécurité sous le contrôle de l'Autorité palestinienne en vertu des accords du Caire en 2005.

Or, pour la présidence palestinienne, "la reprise du dialogue doit permettre de mettre en place la proposition yéménite afin qu'elle soit appliquée. Nous ne voulons pas de discussions sur différents articles car cela ne mènerait à rien", précise un communiqué. Tandis que pour le Hamas, il ne s'agit que d'un cadre de pourparlers afin de trouver un accord qui satisfasse les deux parties.

Hamas: No free calm with the Zionist entity

Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, 23.3.08. Dr, Khalil Al Haiya, the leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, revealed that his movement would not accept any mediation or initiative for calm with the Zionist occupation if it diminish the rights of the Palestinian people, stressing that the Palestinian people will not recognize the Zionist.

He added in a festival was organized by the feminist branch in the movement in Gaza City, that Hamas is more insistence on the Palestinian rights, especially in the fourth anniversary to martyrdom of Sheik Ahmed Yassin.

He said: "Hamas after the death of Sheikh became more resolve, and its public popularity increased, especially in light of the siege imposed by the Zionist entity on the Gaza Strip.

He continued that Hamas is on the path of the leaders Yassin and his friends, no matter how enormous sacrifices, and the use of inducements to change the approach of Hamas and the resistance against the Zionist entity.

In the end of the festival, Dr. Khalil stressed that no free calm will be with the Zionist entity in the next coming time.

With friends like these

Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 24.3.08. A true friend of Israel, one that is sincerely concerned for its fate, is only that friend who dares to express sharp criticism of its policy of occupation, which poses the most serious risk to its future, and who also takes practical steps to end it. Most of the "friendly" statesmen do not understand this. Who hasn't come to visit lately? From the German chancellor to the leading frontrunner for the American presidency. And the secretary-general of the United Nations is on his way. A visit to Israel has become de rigueur for foreign pols. If you haven't been here, you're nowhere. Angela Merkel, who received such a royal reception here last week, did not bring up any controversial issue in her speech at the Knesset. And so, her "historic" speech turned into a hollow one. By not speaking about the siege on Gaza, the starvation imposed on it and the killing of hundreds of its people, Europe's leaders are not meeting their political and moral obligations.

The visitors are taken, of course, to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, the Western Wall and now to Sderot as well - the new national pilgrimage site. A few also pay a perfunctory visit to Ramallah; no one goes to the Gaza Strip, and they all have nothing but praise for Israel. Not a word of criticism on the occupation, on Israel's violent operations in the territories, on the siege and the starving - with the exception of a few vague remarks on the need for a solution. Israel squeezes the Sderot "informational" lemon for all it's worth.

A state that imposes a siege that is almost unprecedented in the world today in terms of its cruelty, that adopts an official policy of assassination, is embraced by the family of nations, if we are to judge by the words of the many statesmen who cross our doorstep.

A true friend of Israel, one that is sincerely concerned for its fate, is only that friend who dares to express sharp criticism of its policy of occupation, which poses the most serious risk to its future, and who also takes practical steps to end it. Most of the "friendly" statesmen do not understand this.

Being right - all the way to the abyss

Doron Rosenblum, Haaretz, 22.3.08. Even if it seems "right" to settle an old bloody score - as part of the same pedagogical outlook that keeps boomeranging anyway - where does it lead us, in practical terms, in moral terms, vis-a-vis our image? While one spin knockout is followed by a terrorist attack and then the retaliation for the attack, Israel and Palestine are merging into a single, distasteful mass. And the distaste toward Israel is greater, perhaps precisely because there are some remaining shreds of expectation toward it.

The maxim "it is better to be smart than right" has never been more urgent and vital for Israel, especially when it wants to maintain the distinction between itself and its enemy and not become associated with its methods. Our most pressing need is not another battlefield "accomplishment" or PR "triumph," but a swift exit from the cycle of bloodshed in a cease-fire or some reasonable arrangement that will at least suspend the slide toward chaos.

Rabbinic fatwas

Haaretz Editorial, 21.3.08. It would be appropriate for the rabbis to take advantage of their standing to restore calm and step up security at the yeshivas, and not leave them unguarded. And mostly, to confront the roots of the conflict and the need to develop a dialogue between the peoples and religions in an effort to spur compromises and not eternal wars in which each side is convinced that the goal dictated by its faith is total submission.

It never rains but it pours

Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades. 17.3.08 Zionists are fearing huge operations inside the Zionist entity from the West Bank
Zionist security sources expressed a high level of fear and a deep concern that the Palestinian resistance, in particular the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas", Ezzedeen Al Qassam Brigades, will direct a strong blow to the Zionist military institution in the coming weeks. The sources claimed that the "Hamas" is trying with all its power to strengthen its presence in all areas of the occupied West Bank, despite the ongoing detention campaigns against the movement by the Zionist occupation forces and Abbas gangs. The sources warned that the past year has witnessed "115% growing" in smuggling explosives to the West Bank. A Zionist site called "Al Shuhra'a" said that the Zionist security sources said "Hamas scattered all over the West Bank, and not only in the city of Hebron as some people think, and Hamas is trying all the time to take military action against the Zionist occupation forces, but they concentrate on hitting the eternal front in the occupation". The sources claimed that the decline in the activity of Hamas cells in the West Bank to arrest campaigns carried out by the occupation army, which would enable them to prevent the implementation of many of the operations, but the Al Quds operation destroyed this theory. The occupation authorities have arrested several hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank since the beginning of this year according to statistics of the organizations concerned with the affairs of Palestinian prisoners. The Zionist sources Referred that a silent battle is going all the time in the West Bank, where the Zionist army invaded the Palestinian civilians houses, each night 100 to 140 civilians are being arrested. The sources claimed that "The calm that we see now in the West Bank is deceptive quit, because within the Palestinian cities there all the time an temptations to carry out operations against the Zionist targets."

The PA's hollow protests

Amira Hass, Haaretz, 13.3.08. The question of why the Palestinians have not adopted Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance should be addressed to PA leaders - not the millions of Palestinians who every day wage an unarmed struggle against the sophisticated and advanced methods of oppression. The protests would sound completely different if the protesters were to organize a calculated public revolt against Israel's tactics of annexation.

There is no lack of opportunities.

There are hundreds of concrete barriers blocking exits to villages. The PA could send a bulldozer to remove one of them every day. Senior officials could come along: Mahmoud Abbas or someone from his bureau, heads of security organizations, members of the PLO central committee, senior Fatah representatives, ministers and directors general. There are roads that are forbidden to Palestinian cars. PA officials and West Bank residents could form a long convoy of cars and drive on these roads. Many Israelis would be happy to join them. Building and development are banned in Area C. The Palestinian planning office could order the appropriate Palestinian ministries to put up electricity lines, to prepare the infrastructure to connect villages to the water carrier, to dig cisterns to collect rainwater, to build schools, clinics and houses. Maybe even dig wells. All of the things that the Israeli occupation authorities forbid to do on 60 percent of the West Bank. Here, too, there will be no small number of Israelis opposed to the occupation who will join up.

The Civil Administration will come and destroy it all. Then build it again.

The senior officials accompanying the work will be arrested. Even better. Should only the residents of Bil'in be arrested for their unarmed struggle against the occupation?

The evacuation of the settlements in the Gaza Strip, it should be said again, was a brilliant move by Israel to speed up the political separation between the West Bank and Gaza; it all the while masqueraded as "the beginning of the pullout."

The condemnations heard from the PA camp are for internal purposes only. It is a way of telling the Palestinian public that its representatives are in the same boat as the weak population that suffers under occupation, just as the armed struggle is intended to show the Palestinian public which organization really knows how to exact revenge. The PA's condemnations prove how ridiculous and impotent they truly are. They signal to both Israel and the Palestinians that it does not matter how many new settlement homes will be erected, a Palestinian partner will always take his place at the "peace process" show.

Negotiations and armed struggle are not the only means of fighting the occupation. The question of why the Palestinians have not adopted Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent resistance should be addressed to PA leaders - not the millions of Palestinians who every day wage an unarmed struggle against the sophisticated and advanced methods of oppression.

The protests would sound completely different if the protesters were to organize a calculated public revolt against Israel's tactics of annexation.

There is no lack of opportunities.

There are hundreds of concrete barriers blocking exits to villages. The PA could send a bulldozer to remove one of them every day. Senior officials could come along: Mahmoud Abbas or someone from his bureau, heads of security organizations, members of the PLO central committee, senior Fatah representatives, ministers and directors general.

There are roads that are forbidden to Palestinian cars. PA officials and West Bank residents could form a long convoy of cars and drive on these roads. Many Israelis would be happy to join them.

Building and development are banned in Area C. The Palestinian planning office could order the appropriate Palestinian ministries to put up electricity lines, to prepare the infrastructure to connect villages to the water carrier, to dig cisterns to collect rainwater, to build schools, clinics and houses. Maybe even dig wells. All of the things that the Israeli occupation authorities forbid to do on 60 percent of the West Bank. Here, too, there will be no small number of Israelis opposed to the occupation who will join up.

The Civil Administration will come and destroy it all. Then build it again.

The senior officials accompanying the work will be arrested. Even better. Should only the residents of Bil'in be arrested for their unarmed struggle against the occupation?

It is possible to come up with hundreds of other measures of this kind, which could replace the official Palestinian governmental plan, and force the leadership away from their "make-believe state," and bring them back to battle for liberation. True, these measures alone cannot end the colonization, but they have the potential to end the status quo that is so convenient for Israel: expanding settlements, endless negotiations, protests and shootings. There is a potential here to change the alienated relations between the people and their representatives, to create a new type of Palestinian diplomacy.

But it is also true that such a vision has no chance. The present PA and PLO leadership has grown accustomed to living as a nomenclature. They are confusing the interests of their own people with their relatively comfortable ceremonial status; a status that is their reward for being willing to participate in a spectacle of respectability scripted by the Americans and Europeans for the benefit of Israel

Fallita la 'catena umana' di Hamas

Quotidiano Net Esteri, 25.2.07. Il movimento islamico contava su una mobilitazione massiccia: la modesta partecipazione popolare ha messo in evidenza l'incapacita' del movimento islamico nell'organizzare una lotta di massa pacifica. Hamas, ha spiegato ad Apcom l'analista palestinese Issam Nassar, aveva compreso in parte le potenzialita' di una massiccia partecipazione di massa ma, ha aggiunto, "nell'organizzare oggi la catena umana e' stato ambiguo nelle parole d'ordine, avrebbe dovuto spiegare alla gente l'impatto positivo che la lotta pacifica avrebbe avuto sull'opinione pubblica internazionale e invece ha parlato di sacrificio e resistenza". "Cosi' molti temendo di essere mandati allo sbaraglio hanno preferito rimanere a casa". Una occasione perduta anche se i dirigenti di Hamas annunciano che in futuro i palestinesi non esiteranno a forzare i valichi con Israele per mettere fine all'isolamento politico ed economico di Gaza. Il movimento islamico, abbagliato dall'ideale della lotta armata, appare incapace di proporre alla popolazione di Gaza un modello alternativo al martirio e alla violenza come percorso per raggiungere l'indipendenza.

Eppure la lotta pacifica palestinese e' un'arma che i comandi militari israeliani temono molto, come ha scritto per il sito del quotidiano Haaretz l'analista Bradley Burston. "Nel vasto arsenale israeliano di tecnologia e armamenti non c'e' nulla che puo' contrastarlo efficacemente (il pacifismo, ndr)... ecco perche' per decenni Israele ha fatto del suo meglio per bloccare le espressioni della non-violenza palestinese".

Il pacifismo, spiega Burston, al contrario degli attentati suicidi, dei razzi su Sderot e della violenza migliora l'immagine della lotta palestinese e conquista consensi, non solo all'estero ma anche tra gli israeliani. I palestinesi, aggiunge l'analista pertanto dovrebbero ripetere le battaglie non violente della prima Intifada e sviluppare una pratica di resistenza civile all'occupazione militare.
Invece il movimento islamico abbagliato dall'ideale della lotta armata appare incapace di proporre alla popolazione di Gaza un modello alternativo al martirio e alla violenza come percorso per raggiungere l'indipendenza.

Eppure gli esempi di lotta pacifica non mancano. Nel villaggio di Bilin, a ridosso del muro di separazione costruito da Israele in Cisgiordania, da tre anni a questa parte palestinesi, attivisti internazionali e pacifisti israeliani continuano a tenere ogni venerdi' una manifestazione di protesta contro la confisca delle terre che attira ogni volte molte centinaia di persone (venerdi' scorso erano circa oltre mille) e procura non poco imbarazzo all'esercito israeliano costretto ad far uso della forza per disperdere dimostranti disarmati, sotto l'occhio delle telecamere di tutto il mondo.

L'espérance déçue des Palestiniens de Gaza, traqués par la police égyptienne à Al-Arich

Michel Bôle-Richard, AL-ARICH (Egypte) ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL, Le Monde, 30.1.07. "Même dans les boulangeries, on refuse de nous vendre du pain. Les Egyptiens veulent nous étrangler après que les Israéliens ont voulu nous étouffer."La chasse aux Palestiniens a commencé dans les rues du centre d'Al-Arich, cité balnéaire égyptienne. Dans le souk et les rues adjacentes, des forces de police en uniforme et en civil contrôlaient les identités et poursuivaient, lundi 28 janvier, les habitants de la bande de Gaza qui erraient en quête de nourriture et de logement depuis l'ouverture par la force de la frontière, le 23 janvier. Tous ont été embarqués dans des cars et des minibus pour être réexpédiés à la frontière. Difficile d'échapper aux rafles tant la présence policière est importante.

La plupart des magasins ont été fermés sur ordre des autorités afin d'essayer de tarir le flot continu de Palestiniens venus faire leurs emplettes. Les jerrycans sont interdits, et les pompistes sont passibles d'amende s'ils outrepassent les ordres de ne pas servir les Palestiniens.

Même les marchandises ne parviennent plus dans ce cul-de-sac du Sinaï, car elles sont bloquées à Ismaïlia par décision des autorités égyptiennes, afin de tenter de stopper l'exode d'un peuple aspirant à un peu d'oxygène et de denrées dont il est privé par le blocus israélien. Des ordres ont été donnés de ne pas loger ceux qui se retrouvent une nouvelle fois comme des réfugiés. Ils dorment où ils peuvent et tentent d'échapper aux forces de sécurité en se cachant. Certains font état de passages à tabac. "Les habitants nous reprochent d'avoir fait monter les prix et d'avoir provoqué une pénurie, mais nous n'y sommes pour rien, protestent des Palestiniens exaspérés. Nous ne voulons que nous ravitailler. Les commerçants n'ont pas à se plaindre. Ce n'est pas une invasion !"

Al-Arich, porte de l'espoir, est devenue le cimetière des illusions. A l'entrée de la ville, plusieurs milliers de personnes ont trouvé refuge dans une rue, transformée en boulevard de l'attente, et dans deux mosquées, l'une pour les femmes et les enfants et l'autre pour les hommes, toutes deux encombrées de valises.

Il y a là des centaines de malades, d'étudiants, de résidents dans des pays étrangers bloqués dans la bande de Gaza depuis le coup de force du Hamas le 15 juin 2007, et qui ont cru qu'ils allaient pouvoir se faire soigner, poursuivre leurs études ou retrouver les leurs. Pas de tampon de sortie, pas de possibilités de se rendre au Caire. Alors, ils attendent, depuis le 23 janvier, que les autorités égyptiennes fassent un geste. Beaucoup ont des visas en règle, les documents médicaux appropriés, des cartes de séjour de pays étrangers valides. Ne manque qu'un coup de tampon égyptien, ce qui les classe parmi les illégaux. Des malades ont dû être hospitalisés. "Faudra-t-il une révolte, un mort pour que l'on s'inquiète de notre sort", proteste Bassam, rongé par un cancer du pancréas.

Finally, a popular uprising in Gaza

Amira Hass, Haaretz, 30.1.08. The chance of using the achievement of having breached the wall as a way of moving forward and developing the tactics of a popular struggle is hampered by two primary obstacles. One is what's called the "armed struggle" - such as rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli towns, or a suicide bombing in Israel. The Palestinian mantra that an occupied nation has the right "to fight using all means" rings hollow, since what's at stake is not a right, but the effectiveness of the struggle. The second obstacle is the Ramallah government's entrenched refusal to speak with Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas met with Ehud Olmert without preconditions during the same weekend when Israel imposed the cruelest siege yet on Gaza, but Abbas can't speak to Ismail Haniyeh without the Hamas leader accepting his preconditions?

It has been proven that through popular disobedience, the Palestinians manage to break the Israeli rules of the game and bring their concerns back to the center of global attention - as well as intensifying criticism of Israel. The "armed struggle," especially when it is aimed at civilians, achieves the opposite: It presents the Palestinians as the aggressor, not as the occupied party under attack, thereby weakening their global standing.

If the Gaza government does not want to lose the momentum of the wall's fall, it must not make do with just having its own militants desist from firing Qassams: it must make it clear to other organizations that they are hindering a successful move of resistance.

The second obstacle is the Ramallah government's entrenched refusal to speak with Hamas. These are, after all, two quasi governments whose legality is questionable from the perspective of the Palestinian Authority's basic law. But both represent the same occupied people and the same tract of land subject to an accelerated process of colonization - and that overcomes all legal quibbling. Mahmoud Abbas met with Ehud Olmert without preconditions during the same weekend when Israel imposed the cruelest siege yet on Gaza, but Abbas can't speak to Ismail Haniyeh without the Hamas leader accepting his preconditions?

This boycott contributes to the severance that Israel works so diligently to intensify. The longer the delay in direct talks between the two leaderships over practical ways of lifting the siege of Gaza, the greater the concern that indeed, as Hamas officials argue, the Ramallah government listens to the United States and to Israel - but not to the will of its own people.

Ahmed Youssef, conseiller politique du Hamas: «Ce qui s’est passé à Rafah est le début de la troisième Intifada»

CHRISTOPHE AYAD Envoyé spécial dans la bande de Gaza, libération.fr,30.1.08

Pourquoi ne pas cesser les tirs de roquettes contre Israël ?

Ces roquettes, c’est un prétexte pour Israël. Nous avons cessé les attentats-suicides, nous avons respecté quinze mois de trêve, de mars 2005 à juin 2006 [jusqu’à l’enlèvement du caporal israélien Gilad Shalit], cela ne les a pas empêchés de nous bombarder, de massacrer nos civils. Ces deux dernières années, 4 Israéliens ont été tués par des roquettes artisanales alors que 2000 Palestiniens ont été tués. Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire ? Tirer des bouquets de fleurs ? Nous tirons des roquettes parce que nous n’avons pas le choix. Donnez-nous des F16 et on bombarderait Tel-Aviv comme eux le font à Gaza !

Ending the blockade of Gaza, understandings with Hamas to end the violence, including a ceasefire or a "hudna"

APN Urges Israel and U.S. to Forge Far-Sighted Gaza Strategy; Explore Ceasefire with Hamas

Washington D.C.—Americans for Peace Now (APN) today [25.1.08] issued the following statement regarding the situation in southern Israel, Gaza and on the Gaza-Egypt border:

"In recent days, the world has seen images of Gazans struggling to cope with a lack of fuel and electricity and an acute shortage of other supplies. This week, the world media is flooded with images of huge numbers of Gazans crossing the Egyptian border to purchase basic goods and necessities. Clearly, Israeli efforts to pressure Hamas by clamping down on Gaza, efforts condoned by the U.S., have resulted in increased desperation and misery for the people of Gaza. Wednesday's breach of the Egypt-Gaza border is a tangible consequence of this desperation and a disastrous development for Israel in terms of both security and its image in the world.

"The firing of rockets and mortar rounds from Gaza into Israel must end. APN and its Israeli sister organization, Peace Now, have repeatedly expressed solidarity with the residents of Israeli communities near Gaza who are suffering from such attacks. The government of Israel has the right – indeed, the obligation – to take measures to bring these attacks to a halt, as well as to seek to free its captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

"APN has also consistently held that Israel should avoid actions that constitute collective punishment or cause disproportionate suffering or casualties among civilians. Such actions are fundamentally wrong and ultimately counterproductive. It is equally wrong and counterproductive for the U.S. to condone such actions. The dramatic deterioration in the health and welfare of civilians in Gaza over the past year represents an entirely man-made, and entirely avoidable, humanitarian tragedy. This tragedy must be reversed, not as a concession to Hamas, but because it is the right thing to do, both morally and strategically.

"By now it should be clear that the policy of placing Gaza under siege is succeeding neither in stopping Qassam fire, nor in ousting Hamas. Tactics of this nature have been tried and have failed, repeatedly. Rather than continue down this disastrous path, Israel, with the support and urging of the U.S., should forge a more responsible, constructive, and far-sighted way forward in terms of both its tactics and strategy for Gaza.

"This new way forward should include ending the blockade of Gaza. It should also include urgent diplomatic efforts to address the security challenges associated with Gaza. In particular, Israel should explore the possibility of achieving understandings with Hamas to end the violence, including a ceasefire or a "hudna," either through direct contacts or via third parties, including President Abbas. Such an option has been embraced to various degrees by key Israeli military and security figures, including former national security advisor (to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) Giora Eiland, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy, and former defense minister Shaul Mofaz.

"A ceasefire or hudna cannot be an end unto itself. A ceasefire or hudna is desirable as a means to halt violence and chaos in the immediate term, creating the space to facilitate improvements in the humanitarian situation and the establishment of a political process. In this way, it can allow the sides to avoid the re-emergence of violence in the longer term. Such a process could involve, as appropriate, the major relevant players: Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Egypt. Absent improvements in the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the establishment of a political process, any ceasefire or hudna risks becoming merely an intermission to allow those attacking Israel to re-arm, re-trench, and enhance their military capability for future attacks.

"Similarly, it is vital that order and security be restored along the Egypt-Gaza border. This will require cooperation and coordination, including between Egypt and Israel, whose Camp David treaty governs military operations and deployments in the border area. Absent such coordination and cooperation, or absent accompanying improvements in the humanitarian situation inside Gaza, efforts to address the border situation will likely fail, with predictable results."