Engaging in \u200cthe Pursuit of Peace: Inspiring Hope for Israel and Palestine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of whether it is practical, wise, \u2062or foolhardy at this moment in time, offering suggestions for peace between Israel and the Palestinians must be done.<\/p>\n

We should each\u200c day \u200caudibly reiterate<\/a> the hope and prosperity that \u2062could occur\u200b if the Palestinians opt \u200cfor peace. One \u2062might argue that\u200c the prosperity that would come \u200dwith peace is self-evident, but a\u200b people who live in despair and poverty and feel their plight \u200cis not only the result of Israel\u2019s\u200d policies but actually the desire of Israel need to be reminded and\u200d reassured that peace\u2064 would bring prosperity.<\/p>\n

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Opting for peace would necessarily mean that Hamas surrenders and \u2064is replaced by a Palestinian government \u200dthat agrees to coexist with\u200c Israel.<\/p>\n
Of \u2063course, such a breakthrough is easier to conceive of than \u200bto implement. But such a dream needs elucidation and repetition if Palestinians \u200care to reject Hamas and terrorism.\u200d Terrorism is a tactic, not \u200can entity, which \u2063can be \u2062militarily countered but\u2064 never \u2063really eliminated. It is understandable that any \u200dcountry must and will defend itself against the terrorists\u2019 senseless violence.<\/p>\n
But ultimately, the defeat \u2063of terrorism requires the\u2063 aggrieved party to voluntarily\u200d lay down its weapons and choose another way. The terrorists themselves are beyond reason and redemption, but the mass of\u200d the Palestinian population not yet radicalized might be reached.<\/p>\n
When\u200d I visited Israel\u200b in 2013, I suggested to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that incremental improvements in \u200dthe lives of\u2062 Palestinians might \u2064lessen\u200c their rage and propensity to commit violence. In principle, he didn\u2019t disagree, but\u2064 in practice,\u200d he was not very open to concrete \u200dproposals.<\/p>\n
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When\u2063 I suggested that \u2063Israel allow a modern port to \u2064be constructed in Gaza under the joint \u2062security of Israel and the Palestinians, Netanyahu responded that Palestinians already \u200bhad a port \u2014 \u200din Israel. Not exactly a recipe \u200cfor significantly \u2062lowering tensions.<\/p>\n
When I\u2064 suggested \u200dthat the West Bank and\u2062 Gaza gradually be allowed to assume control of the economic duties paid by \u200dcommerce crossing their borders, Netanyahu was similarly not eager for change in either\u200b the West Bank\u2063 or Gaza. In \u200bGaza, he saw no opening for negotiations with Hamas. Of course, \u200che is correct that a Palestinian port could only happen when\u2062 Hamas is gone, but the Palestinians need\u200b to hear \u200cthat a port and prosperity\u200b would be the\u2064 result of them\u200d rejecting Hamas.<\/p>\n
Even before Hamas\u2064 took over, construction of a port in Gaza never really was allowed to proceed. Albeit\u2064 Israel\u2019s opposition did\u2062 come in response to the Second Intifada and\u200c missile attacks from Gaza.<\/p>\n
Constant attacks over decades have left\u200b many Israeli leaders beleaguered and open only \u2063to retrenchment, \u200creprisal, and \u200ddefense and unable to understand the need to discover and persuade reasonable voices \u200cin Gaza. Selling peace and selling Israel as a \u2062neighboring country that desires prosperity \u200dfor\u2064 Gaza is no easy sale. Hence,\u2062 the need \u200cfor \u2064continuous \u2064voices touting the \u200bprosperity that could come\u2063 with the rejection of Hamas\u200d and violence.<\/p>\n
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The Abraham\u200c Accords seem to be an example \u2063of some of Israel\u2019s neighbors finally grasping that normalizing \u200cpeaceful relations\u200c with Israel can be a win-win situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n
No one can blame\u2064 the Israelis for considering Hamas to be incapable\u2064 of good-faith negotiation<\/a>. Yet while it is true that Hamas cannot be negotiated\u200d with, the non-Hamas Palestinians must hear\u2063 a message of hope of what could come \u2064if they renounce violence. <\/p>\n
For a long-term peace \u2063to occur, Palestinians must \u2062believe they will materially benefit by rejecting Hamas. Palestinians need to hear that rejecting\u200b violence and recognizing Israel would make possible \u200cthe building of a \u200dmodern port in\u200b Gaza, that the blockade will end, that the \u2062gulf sheikdoms would be allowed to \u2062facilitate regional \u200dand international \u200dtrade, that travel into \u2064Israel from Gaza for work would be allowed,\u2064 that desalinization technology would \u200bbe shared, and that\u2064 the benefits of free trade will allow Gaza to\u2062 finally prosper \u2014 \u200bbut only if and when Palestinians completely\u2063 reject the\u200c violence.<\/p>\n
Some will \u200csay, \u201cOh, \u200cthe\u2064 Palestinians already know this, and\u2062 they choose Hamas \u200dand violence.\u201d I would argue that \u2064the Palestinians\u200b need to\u200d be told and retold \u200bof the benefits of rejecting violence. \u200dSure, the \u200cPalestinians are \u200bseeing the stick\u200b that comes as \u200da result of terrorism, but the tribal world we live\u2063 in is\u2063 so polarized and jaded that it\u2019s likely many Palestinians don\u2019t even believe that Hamas has committed the atrocities \u2064against civilians including women and \u200dchildren. \u2062So,\u2063 instead\u200b of dropping \u200cleaflets\u200c to a million Palestinians to flee or\u200b be bombed, perhaps we\u2062 might consider leaflets \u200cannouncing the prosperity and benefits if\u2064 they choose a\u200d government that recognizes\u2062 Israel and\u2063 renounces violence.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is na\u00efve to believe that enough \u200dPalestinians might\u2064 choose peace, but the cycle of terrorism, followed by military reprisals, \u200cfollowed by\u200c more terrorism is not the answer. <\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
rnrn <\/p>\n
How can the Palestinian population\u200b be \u200breminded and\u2063 reassured that peace with Israel would bring prosperity?<\/h2>\n
\u2064 Engaging in the Pursuit of\u200d Peace: Inspiring Hope for Israel and Palestine<\/p>\n
Regardless of whether it is\u2062 practical, wise, or foolhardy \u200cat this moment in time, offering suggestions for peace between Israel and\u200b the Palestinians must be\u2064 done.<\/p>\n
We\u2063 should each \u200dday audibly reiterate the hope and prosperity that could \u2063occur if the Palestinians opt\u2062 for peace. One might argue \u2063that the prosperity that would come with peace is self-evident, but a\u2063 people who live \u2062in\u200c despair and poverty and feel their plight is not\u2062 only the\u2064 result of Israel\u2019s policies but actually the desire of Israel need to be reminded and reassured that peace would bring prosperity.<\/p>\n
Opting for peace would necessarily mean that Hamas surrenders and \u200bis replaced by a\u200b Palestinian government\u200d that agrees to coexist with Israel.<\/p>\n
Of course, \u2062such\u2063 a breakthrough is easier to\u200d conceive of than to implement. But such a dream needs elucidation and \u2062repetition if Palestinians are to \u200dreject Hamas \u2064and terrorism. Terrorism is a tactic, not an entity, which can be militarily \u200dcountered\u200d but never really eliminated. It is understandable that any \u200bcountry must and will\u2064 defend itself against \u200dthe terrorists\u2019 senseless \u2062violence.<\/p>\n
But ultimately, the \u200bdefeat \u200dof terrorism requires the \u200daggrieved party to voluntarily lay down its weapons and choose another way. The terrorists themselves are beyond reason and redemption, but the\u2063 mass of \u200dthe Palestinian\u2064 population not yet radicalized\u2063 might be reached.<\/p>\n
When I visited Israel \u200bin 2013, I suggested to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that incremental improvements in the\u200b lives of Palestinians might lessen their rage and propensity to commit violence. In principle, he didn\u2019t disagree, but in practice, he was not very open to concrete proposals.<\/p>\n
When I suggested\u2064 that \u200cIsrael\u200c allow a modern port to \u2062be constructed\u2064 in Gaza under the joint security of Israel and the Palestinians, Netanyahu responded that \u2062Palestinians already had a port \u2014 in Israel. Not exactly\u2062 a recipe for significantly lowering tensions.<\/p>\n
When I suggested that the West Bank and Gaza\u200c gradually \u2063be allowed to assume \u200dcontrol of the economic\u200b duties \u200bpaid by commerce crossing their borders, Netanyahu was similarly not eager\u200d for change in either the West Bank\u200b or \u200cGaza.\u2062 In Gaza, he saw no opening for negotiations with Hamas. Of course, he is correct that \u200ba\u2062 Palestinian port could only happen\u2064 when Hamas is gone,\u2063 but the Palestinians need\u200d to hear that a port and prosperity would be the result of them\u2064 rejecting Hamas.<\/p>\n
Even \u200cbefore Hamas took over, construction of a port in Gaza never really was allowed to proceed. Albeit Israel\u2019s opposition did come\u200c in response to the Second Intifada and missile attacks from Gaza.<\/p>\n
Constant attacks \u200bover decades have left many Israeli leaders\u200b beleaguered and\u2063 open\u200c only to retrenchment, reprisal,\u200c and defense and unable to understand\u200c the need to discover \u200band persuade reasonable voices in Gaza. Selling peace\u200b and selling Israel as a neighboring country that desires prosperity for Gaza is no easy sale. Hence, the need \u2064for \u2063continuous voices touting the prosperity that could come\u2062 with the rejection of Hamas and violence.<\/p>\n
The\u2062 Abraham Accords seem to be an example of \u200dsome of Israel\u2019s neighbors finally grasping that normalizing\u200d peaceful relations with Israel can be a win-win\u2063 situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n
No\u200d one can blame the Israelis for considering Hamas to be incapable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Regardless of whether it is practical, wise, or foolhardy at this moment in time, offering suggestions for peace between Israel and the Palestinians must be done. We should each day audibly reiterate the hope and prosperity that could occur if the Palestinians opt for peace. One might argue that the prosperity that would come with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":795,"featured_media":2093664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2093663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2093663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2093663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2093664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2093663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2093663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2093663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}