Jan 03 2009
“If they want peace then they should just stop fighting!”
2008 ended and 2009 began with the Israeli army and Hamas firing missiles at each other. As always, the deaths and injuries have been caused to many innocent people on both sides. The current Israeli offensive is apparently intended to stop Hamas attacks on Israel. However, experience shows that peace is rarely achieved through violence. The fact that Gaza has been isolated from the rest of the world since the election of the Hamas government has only led to further resentment from the Palestinians towards Israel. The decision of the Israeli government to fire missiles into Gaza (one of the most crowded parts of the world) will inevitably lead to further resentment and radicalization of the local population. Instead of isolating and attacking Hamas, Israel needs to negotiate. Attempts at a violent solution will only lead to more violence.
When we were watching the news on TV the other day, the reporter was commenting on how peace in this part of the world was looking less and less likely. Our 8 year old son suddenly said, “Well, if they want peace then they should just stop fighting!”. Quite profound really for a child who is not exactly known for his skills at peace negotiation!
Fair enough. Israel would need to make a lot of concessions to bring peace (open border crossings, stop economically strangling the country, etc) otherwise Hamas will emerge from this even more defiant.
I’m not sure how much faith I have in Israel taking that step though…
Out of the mouths of innocent children and it is that simple.