Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Introducing Hamas - the New Likud
by Professor Neve Gordon - Aron's Israel Peace Weblog
Bradley Burston from Ha'aretz makes a provocative analogy between the rise of the Likud and the rise of Hamas. Israelis have an expression "Rak Ha'Likud Yahol" - only the Likud can do it. Israeli and Palestinian societies share machismo attitudes where being "strong" is a critical value, and weakness is despised. So only "strong" (i.e. violent) leaders can be trusted when concessions are made.
Leaders of the uncompromising Likud were always seen as strong. So when Begin and Sharon made "far-reaching" concessions to the Palestinians, the vast majority of Israelis felt comfortable with those decisions. Post-Sharon the Israeli "consensus" is pretty close to the positions of the "far-left" of fifteen years ago. But only Sharon could drag Israelis along to that position.
If Hamas reaches an agreement with Israel, no Palestinian will claim they did it as a "tool" of Israel or America, or out of weakness. The bigger question is what kind of agreement is still possible given the facts on the ground of the settlement project? Perhaps the best that can be hoped for at this stage is the continuation of the hudna. But if calm continues, and both Israel and Palestine focus on internal development instead of armed conflict, there is hope in time of more far-reaching reconciliation between the two sides.
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by Professor Neve Gordon - Aron's Israel Peace Weblog
Bradley Burston from Ha'aretz makes a provocative analogy between the rise of the Likud and the rise of Hamas. Israelis have an expression "Rak Ha'Likud Yahol" - only the Likud can do it. Israeli and Palestinian societies share machismo attitudes where being "strong" is a critical value, and weakness is despised. So only "strong" (i.e. violent) leaders can be trusted when concessions are made.
Leaders of the uncompromising Likud were always seen as strong. So when Begin and Sharon made "far-reaching" concessions to the Palestinians, the vast majority of Israelis felt comfortable with those decisions. Post-Sharon the Israeli "consensus" is pretty close to the positions of the "far-left" of fifteen years ago. But only Sharon could drag Israelis along to that position.
If Hamas reaches an agreement with Israel, no Palestinian will claim they did it as a "tool" of Israel or America, or out of weakness. The bigger question is what kind of agreement is still possible given the facts on the ground of the settlement project? Perhaps the best that can be hoped for at this stage is the continuation of the hudna. But if calm continues, and both Israel and Palestine focus on internal development instead of armed conflict, there is hope in time of more far-reaching reconciliation between the two sides.
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