Monthly Archive for May, 2007

Ghassan Khatib

The issue of a ceasefire is best understood in the light of the general rule that as long as there is oppressive and violent occupation there will always be resistance, including violent resistance. Once that is understood, it should be equally clear that the only way to reduce or end violent confrontations is through a political process that at the very least promises an end to this occupation.

The argument is easily illustrated by casting an eye back over the last 40 years of this belligerent and illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. The only period of relative calm during that time was between 1996-2000, during the “healthy” years of the Oslo-inspired peace process. These years gave Palestinians a reason to believe that the occupation was coming to an end. As a result, Palestinians were ready to give this process a chance and instead focus on issues such as state and institution building.

It is no coincidence that the collapse of negotiations at Camp David was followed by an outbreak of confrontations and violence between the two sides. The period after the election of Hamas also witnessed a relative reduction in violence, at least from the Palestinian side. Israel undertook two extremely punishing and deadly raids into the Gaza Strip, one in June and one in October, leading to over a hundred Palestinian deaths, including many children and innocent bystanders. Nevertheless, a Gaza truce was agreed in November last year. Under the terms of this unwritten agreement, Hamas accepted to end its violent activities from the Strip if Israel ended its violent attacks on the Strip. But violence in the West Bank was excluded from the agreement.

Continue reading ‘Violence can only end with a political context’