Good GovernanceDrs. S. LeusenkampWindesheim Honours College

Hendrik Lok, S1012004

Zwolle, 27-11-12

Assignment 1Essay on a lack of Good Governance

Hamas

اومة� ح�رك�ة� ة�� ال�مق� الاس�لام�ي�The Islamic Resistance

Movement

The Destructive Grip of Hamas

on Gaza Strip

SummaryThe Islamic Resistance Movement governing the Gaza Strip of the

Palestinian Territories called Hamas, has been classified as a

terrorist organization by the US, UK, EU, and Israel. As a result of

their main purpose, which is to completely destroy the sovereign

State of Israel, they are conducting a variety of deadly terrorist

activities. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the lack of

good governance by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as a very important

result of their destructive attitude and activities towards the

state of Israel, and even their own residents. Although there have

been some relative failures and successes during the process of

conflict between Hamas and the state of Israel; it seems to be

impossible to create a truly sustainable and peaceful relationship

between the neighboring entities under the current circumstances. To

emphasize the main argument about the cause for the lack of good

governance in the Gaza Strip explicitly: the nature and goal of the

terrorist organization Hamas, is the total destruction of the

sovereign state of Israel, in which all means seem to be justified.

It must be clear that there will be no true opportunity to strive

for sustainable peace, in order to install good governance in the

Gaza Strip, unless they change their ideology to recognize the

sovereignty of the state of Israel, and act upon accordingly.

Table of contents

1.

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

2. The lack of good governance in the Gaza

Strip…………………………………..………………………22.1 Why is there no good

governance?.........................................................

............................2

2.2 Consequences for the people…………………………………………........………………..

……………………..3

3. Attempts to install good governance in the Gaza

Strip…………………..………………………5 3.1 What has been tried by whom to accomplish good

governance?......................................5

3.2 The failure and success of these

attempts………………………………………………….…………………..7

4. Conclusion and recommendations……………………………..…………………………………………………10

References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12

1. Introduction Former president of the USA George W. Bush once said: “Hamas is an

extremist group that calls for the total destruction of the state of

Israel. It is one of the deadliest terrorist organizations in the

world today.” (2001). A confirmation according to the Israel DefenseForces (IDF) states that “since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip

in 2005, terrorists have fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel.

Over one million Israelis are currently living under threat of

rocket attacks. (…) Hamas is the ruling entity of the Gaza Strip and

recognized as a terrorist group by the US, UK, EU and Israel. In

recent years, Hamas has been increasing the size and capabilities of

its rocket arsenal. (…) Since 2001, more than 12,800 rockets and

mortars, an average of 3 attacks every single day, have landed in

Israel. ” (Israel Defense Forces, 2012)

This is just a combination of quotes from the IDF to provide

some background information about the horrible destruction caused by

Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement located in the Gaza Strip,

and governing the South Western part of the Palestinian Territories

(PT) near the sovereign state of Israel. Furthermore, according to a

recently published report by Human Rights Watch (HRM) about the

failures of criminal justice in Gaza called ‘Abusive System’, Hamas

security services are also conducting extensive violations to their

own people, including: warrantless arrests, failure to inform

families directly of detainees’ whereabouts, conducting abusive

interrogations, torturing them, and other violations of their rights

by prosecutors and courts. (2012)

This specific subject is chosen because of my interest in the

Middle-East and the State of Israel in particular. Among many other

terrorist organizations in the direct region, Hamas poses a serious

threat to the national security of the state of Israel and the

wellbeing of millions of its residents. It is to the authors’1

opinion that there is not enough attention spent by the global main

stream and mass media about the true causes in this ongoing and

intense violent conflict.

Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to investigate the lack

of good governance by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as a very important

result of their destructive attitude and activities towards the

state of Israel, and even their own residents. This essay is

structured in such a way that it investigates the lack of good

governance first; to find out why there is no good governance, what

the consequences are for its people, and the state of Israel.

Secondly, it discusses attempts to install good governance in the

Gaza Strip; to find out what has been done by whom to accomplish

good governance and to explain the success and failure of these

attempts. Finally, it concludes upon the arguments made about why

there is a lack of good governance, and it provides some

recommendations to improve good governance in the Gaza Strip.

2

2. The lack of good governance in the Gaza Strip To provide a good understanding about the lack of good governance in

the Gaza Strip, it is important to describe something about the

origin, organization, and purpose of Hamas, as well as their

international relations with other entities in the Middle East

region. The BBC, the Guardian, and CNN reported about the

installation of Hamas, according to Wikipedia. “Hamas' control over

the area was established after the Hamas party won the Palestinian

legislative elections in January 2006, and ousted Fatah officials

during the Battle of Gaza in 2007. Fatah, Hamas' political and

military rival, controls the West Bank. Both regimes – the

Palestinian National Authority and the Hamas administration – regard

themselves as the sole legitimate Palestinian government. Since the

division between the two parties, there have been conflicts between

Hamas and similar factions operating in Gaza, and with Israel, most

notably the Gaza War of 2008-2009.” (2012)

According to a strategic assessment by the Israeli Institute

for National Security Studies (INSS), “the outcome of the elections

has created a Palestinian political arena rife with intra- and

inter-organizational contradictions, personal conflicts, and inter-

generational rifts. These tensions have impacted on the

relationships between Hamas and the Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)-led

Palestinian presidency and between Hamas and Fatah, as well as on

internal dynamics within Hamas itself.” (Mishal, 2006) Another

senior Israeli Middle East research expert confirms this by stating

that “the Hamas takeover in Gaza is a dramatic event that has

ramifications for Israeli-Palestinian relations, as well as regional

significance. The forceful takeover by an Islamic movement of an

Arab political entity generates repercussions and shockwaves in the

Arab world.” (Brom, 2007)

3

2.1 Why is there no good governance? In the introduction of this chapter it is briefly mentioned that

there are multiple organizations in a struggle for power and control

over the PT. To find out more about why there is a lack of good

governance in the Gaza Strip based on this fragile foundation, it is

important to notice something about the internal dilemma which Hamas

is facing as an ideological movement in a regional setting. “The

signing of the Declaration of Principles (DoP, known as Oslo I) by

Israel and the PLO on September 13, 1993, presented the leadership

of Hamas with its most difficult strategic challenge: the choice

between faithfulness to ideology, and the need to take pragmatic

measures aimed at preventing loss of its hold on Palestinian

society.” (Karmon, 2009)

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Furthermore, Dr. Karmon argues that this dilemma was

intensified by the elections for the Autonomy’s Legislative Council

on the 20th of January, 1996, and the installation of the autonomous

Palestinian National Authority (PA). He also points out that

recognition of a formal PA status actually implies recognition of

Israel as well, although in a temporary and limited form, but

undermining the ideological justification for existence of the

Islamic Resistance Movement. (2009)

Moreover, Dr. Karmon makes an important conclusion in his

writing about the international coalition in which Hamas functions,

which provides important notions about the nature and purpose of the

Islamic Resistance Movement. “Israel is fighting not only Hamas, a

radical Islamist religious/political movement whose ideological and

strategic goal is to destroy the Jewish state in order to build on

it a Taliban-style one, but is facing a coalition of radical actors

– Iran, Syria, Hizballah and Hamas – which is responsible for the

destabilization of the entire Middle East for the last two decades.

(2009)

After this description about the regional setting and international

relationships in which Hamas is situated, to illustrate the

background and nature of the organization, the focus will now shift

to the domestic influences of Hamas as a result of these

characteristics. The National Endowment for Democracy organization

located in Washington DC, USA, sketched the effects of the historic

legislative elections in a rather cynical way. “The outcome brought

Hamas to power, triggered international sanctions, crippled the

Palestinian economy, halted virtually all government activity, and

erupted in sustained factional violence between Fatah and Hamas

supporters.” (2006) Therefore, it might be argued that the

development of good governance will not be realized, unless the

5

rivaling Palestinian factions in both separated locations, and in

between them, will reach consensus on the governance of the PT.

2.2 Consequences for the people An important direct effect of these developments is the growing

split between Palestinians on the Gaza Strip and the West bank.

Confirmation of this trend is provided by a public opinion poll

among Palestinians in the PT, conducted by the Palestinian Center

for Policy and Survey Research (PSR). “While the popularity of Abbas

and Fatah increases and the popularity of Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas

decreases, and while the public shows some enthusiasm for a strong

American role in the peace process and greater support for the Arab

Peace Initiative, Palestinians are pessimistic about the chances for

the reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and are less

willing to accept concessions in a permanent settlement.” (2009)

6

Moreover, according to research results about the domestic

conditions in the most recent public opinion poll conducted by the

PSR, “positive evaluation of conditions in the Gaza Strip rises from

22% to 25% while 52% say conditions are bad or very bad. (…) It is

worth noting that this is the first time since the split in 2007

that more Palestinians evaluate conditions in the Gaza Strip as

better than conditions in the West Bank.” (2012) More relevant

findings in these results state that 63% mention corruption in the

governmental institutions of the Gaza Strip, only 17% say there is

press freedom in the Gaza Strip, and 26% of the people say one can

criticize the establishment without fear. Although 64% of the people

in Gaza Strip experience safety and security, 42% of them say they

pursue migration to other countries.

As a consequence beyond these statistics, Palestinian people

take it to the streets to demonstrate for reconciliation between the

rivaling Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah. Witnesses said that

within five hours clandestine officers mingled with the 10.000

protestors to spread the mob with sticks, on which they had to take

stones from the demonstrators. Thousands of protestors also called

for reconciliation on the Jordan West bank. Ismail Haniya, the

leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, invited Mahmoud Abbas, the leader

of the Fatah faction, for a national dialogue to pursue

reconciliation. Although Abbas responded by expressing to end the

division between the Palestinians with presidential and

parliamentary elections, Hamas rejected the proposal. (Nu.nl, 2011)

A news report later that year in May by Nu.nl updated the issue by

stating that the two Palestinian factions made agreements to set up

an interim-government, and to make preparations for upcoming

presidential and parliamentary elections next year. Despite these

efforts, Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas protagonist, already claimed that

the next Prime Minister must come from Gaza (2011).

7

Moreover, to make it even more complicated, according to a news

update by Nu.nl later that month at the end of May, Zahar expressed

his doubts about the position of the highest Hamas leader to the

Lebanese paper Al-Akhbar, because of his silent support to

Palestinian negotiations with Israel. Zahar said in the paper that

Khaled Mashaal, who is exiled to Syria, does not have the right to

say that Hamas gives another chance to the Palestinian leader

Mahmoud Abbas to work out the peace agreements with Israel. Zahar

claims that his statements were not legit, and that the program of

Hamas is against negotiations in this way because they would be a

waste of time. He claims furthermore, that the most important Hamas

leaders are located in Syria which would be damaging for the

organization, because the emphasis should be on the PT. (2011).

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3. Attempts to install good governance in the Gaza

Strip A very often used theory which prevents the development of good

governance in the PT is said to be the occupation by the state of

Israel. Israel would be the dominating and violent oppressor which

systematically denies the Palestinians access to all kinds of rights

and resources. However, according to Mahmoud Al-Zahar, one of the

founders and top Gaza-based leaders of the terrorist organization

Hamas, this is not the case. “Gaza has been freed from occupation.

Gaza is not under siege, and her connection with the outside world

has become a lot easier with visitors from around the world coming

to Gaza beaches. (…) We are self-sustaining in many areas, except

for oil and electricity. Al-Zahar concluded that, “as Hamas knew

from day one, the outcome of the peace process with Israel has been

entirely negative. The two state solution is dead, he said." (Aloni,

2012) Especially his concluding statement is characteristic for the

reluctant attitude of Hamas to sustainable peace building with the

state of Israel. On the contrary, as mentioned before, Hamas is

against every act of recognition of the state of Israel, and in

active favor to completely destroy the legitimate state. It touches

the very important but fragile foundation on which attempts to

install good governance in the Gaza Strip need to be build. In fact,

despite Hamas’ intentions, Israel feels far going responsibility

beyond imagination to develop the Gaza Strip, which for some reasons

even seems to be in conflict with their own laws, of which a

striking example will be dealt with later on.

3.1 What has been tried by whom to accomplish good

governance? An important series of peace initiatives to settle down the conflict

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between the PT and the state of Israel are the so called Oslo

Accords. According to Wikipedia, “The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I,

officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-

Government Arrangements or Declaration of Principles (DoP), was an

attempt in 1993 to resolve the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

It was the first face-to-face agreement between the government of

Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). (…)The

Accord provided for the creation of a Palestinian interim self-

government, the Palestinian National Authority (PA). The PA would

have responsibility for the administration of the territory under

its control. The Accords also called for the withdrawal of the IDF

from parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.” (n.d.)

Furthermore, “the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the

Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement,

the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and

complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian

territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.” (Wikipedia, n.d.) The

most important statement in this follow-up on Oslo I was that

“neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the

status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of

the Permanent Status negotiations.”

The United Nations (UN) also stepped in to provide their

support in an attempt to foster good governance in the Gaza Strip.

However, “due to the pivotal nature of the remaining access

restrictions, the easing of the blockade on the Gaza Strip since

June 2010 did not result in a significant improvement in people’s

livelihoods, which were largely depleted during three years of

strict blockade.” (UNOCHA, 2011)

The most recent attempt to develop good governance in the PT

came actually yesterday, the 29th of November 2012. “The UN General

Assembly on Thursday endorsed an upgraded UN status for the10

Palestinian Authority, despite intense opposition from the United

States and Israel. (…) The vote was 138 delegates in favor of the

measure, nine against and 41 abstentions, including Germany.”

(Ariosto & Pearson, 2012) The upgrade went from a so called non-

member observer entity to a non-member observer state -which is not

a formal sovereign state yet. The reporters for CNN continue to

state that PA President Mahmoud Abbas said “we did not come here

seeking to delegitimize a state established years ago, and that is

Israel; rather we came to affirm the legitimacy of the state that

must now achieve its independence, and that is Palestine.” (2012)

To reflect upon these hypocritical comments with the facts of

history, the following is worthwhile mentioning. “On November 29,

1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (also known as

the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain's former

Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948. (…) The

Palestinian Arabs refused to recognize this arrangement, which they

regarded as favorable to the Jews and unfair to the Arab population

that would remain in Jewish territory under the partition.”

Ironically enough, the Palestinian Arabs immediately refused the

first two state solution already 64 years ago. Moreover, they even

went in a direct attempt to annihilate the just reborn Jewish state

of Israel, which actually led to their defeat, and in return

resulted in losing their first and foremost opportunity to create a

Palestinian state already many years ago. (U.S. Department of State

- Office of the Historian, n.d.)

Wikipedia states that the Israeli Coordinator of Government

Activities in the PT, Major General Eitan Dangot, said that “Israel

seeks to work with Salam Fayyad, to help revive the Palestinian

economy, and hopes to ease restrictions on the Gaza Strip further,

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while somehow preventing the Islamic militants who rule it from

getting credit for any progress.” (2012) Even more interesting is an

article from Israel Today, which has been introduced before, stating

‘Israel first nation in history to finance its enemies’. “Everyone

knows that Gaza is not self-sufficient, and receives nearly all its

water and a large portion of its electricity from Israel. There was

not even a hiccup in that supply as the residents of Gaza rained

down missiles on Israeli cities.” (Jones, 2012) He elaborates on the

remarkable facts that “the Bank of Israel continued to send Brinks

trucks carrying millions of dollars to Hamas during the war.” He

continues to quote Israel’s Ynet news on the issue by explaining

that “Hamas does not have its own banking system. The organization

raises funds in Arab states in dollars, but the currency in Gaza is

the shekel. So, every month Israel transfers millions of shekels to

Gaza to be exchanged for the dollars. The popular Israeli

commentator Dr. Guy Bechor of the Interdisciplinary Center in

Herzliya responded to this ridiculous situation: we represent the

first instance in history of one side feeding and financing its

enemy, even during a time of war between the two." (2012)

However, “in Israel and in most Western nations, it is illegal

for government or financial institutions to monetarily support

organizations classified as terrorist. Though Hamas is most

certainly a terrorist organization, Israel justifies helping it

manage its finances by calling it humanitarian aid.” (Jones, 2012)

Jones explains that without this financial aid, Hamas is not capable

of paying government salaries, and that most Gazans would lose their

jobs, cynically saying that “shooting missiles at Israel are also

some of those jobs by the way”. According to him, a New York court

ruled that Israeli terror victims of Hezbollah could press charges

on a bank in Lebanon which has a department in New York City that

manages financial transfers for a foundation connected to the terror

12

organization. This judgment paved the way for Israeli victims of

Hamas terror to sue the Bank of Israel through its connections if it

continues to aid the organization (2012).

3.2 The failure and success of these attempts According to a report by Foxnews, the Defense Minister of Israel

Ehud Barak said that “we have stretched our hand in peace many times

to the Palestinian people. We have nothing against the people of

Gaza, but this is an all-out war against Hamas and its branches.”

(2008) His colleague, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, added to this by

stating that “Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties, while

Hamas is looking for children to kill. Hamas is targeting

deliberately kindergartens and schools and citizens and civilians

because this is according to their values. Our values are completely

different. We are trying to target Hamas, which hides among

civilians.” (2008)

To recall, the first seemingly successful series of attempts

after many failures have been the Oslo Accords. “From the first

negotiations at the 1949 Armistice Agreements to the most recent at

the Madrid Conference of 1991, there were many failed attempts for a

settlement to bring about a lasting end to the Arab–Israeli and

Israeli–Palestinian conflicts. What made the Oslo Accord

negotiations different, however, was the new Israeli government's

decision to finally hold face-to-face negotiations with the

Palestinian Liberation Organization, as the representative of the

Palestinian people.” (Wikipedia, n.d.)

13

Spielmann from the Associated Press says that “last year, the

Palestinians tried and failed to get full UN member-state status.

The Security Council must approve new members, and the United States

made clear it would veto any Palestinian attempt. So the doomed full

membership bid was never brought forward for a full council vote.”

(2012) The recent UN upgrade of the PA to a non-member observer

state also seems a huge success in pursuit of good governance for

the Gaza Strip. However, “analysts say its new status will bestow

the PA with little more than a symbolic victory and could trigger

diplomatic and financial retribution from the United States and

Israel. The two longstanding allies both oppose the bid on grounds

that it would undercut the formal peace process and could incite

regional unrest.” (McMahon & Masters, 2012)

They continue to explain that “it would lack any formal

recognition of sovereignty, borders, and other such considerations

normally attendant with state status. Acquiring these things from

Israel would require direct negotiations even if the General

Assembly endorsed non-member statehood. Unintended consequences of

UN recognition could include heightened tensions and possibly

violence in the Palestinian territories. Any cut to foreign aid, on

which the PA is heavily dependent, would exacerbate the fiscal

crisis in Palestinian territories”. This could have a disastrous

impact, since “Washington has donated more than $4 billion in aid to

the Palestinians since the mid-1990's in order to combat terrorism,

promote stability and prosperity, and meet humanitarian needs.”

(McMahon & Masters, 2012)

“Simultaneously, what might be called the ‘Oslo aristocracy’ -

those Palestinian leaders commonly associated with the new money and

concessionary politics of the agreements crafted in 1993 - has lost

ground to a mainstream consensus rejecting the precepts of the Oslo

period. All of these developments are greatly altering the

14

Palestinian political scene. A bit tentatively, Palestinians are

wondering if those changes can be made permanent,” writes Charmaine

Seitz for the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP).

She continues to explain that “the same return to grassroots

militancy that has pushed the Oslo aristocracy into the background

feeds the aspirations of others to instill practices of good

governance in the Palestinian leadership.” (2001)

According to a collection of news updates from a dossier by Nu.nl on

Palestinian issues, more interesting statements could be made about

the willingness of Hamas to fight for peace and good governance. In

August 2011 it was said that Hamas cancelled the treaty with Israel.

In September later that year, Ismail Haniya announced his opposition

to a request for autonomous membership at the UN, because they are

not satisfied with the current conditions for the two state

solution. In April 2012, Moussa Abu Marzouk, the number two of

Hamas, claimed to review all pending peace treaties with Israel,

because they will never view Israel as a sovereign state. These

positions are confirmed by the Israeli terrorism expert Amichai

Magen in November 2012, stating that even if Hamas would strive for

peace, it would be impossible, because they are under a constant

pressure of even more extreme groups of jihadists who are supported

by Iran. The Gaza Strip is the ideological Arena between the Shiite

influence from Iran, and the Sunni stream from the Muslim

Brotherhood which are in a struggle for the leadership in the fight

against Israel.

15

16

4. Conclusion and recommendations The Islamic Resistance Movement governing the Gaza Strip of the

Palestinian Territories (PT) called Hamas, has been classified as a

terrorist organization by the US, UK, EU, and Israel. As a result of

their main purpose, which is to completely destroy the sovereign

state of Israel, they are conducting a variety of deadly terrorist

activities. These are ranging from firing rockets and mortars on

Israeli civilians, to systematically suppressing their own people by

denying many of their basic human rights, and inflicting severe

damage to their mental and physical wellbeing.

These examples of their key characteristics form a major cause

for the lack of good governance in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is in a

dilemma between pursuing its ideology of terror and destruction, and

preventing the loss of grip on the Palestinian society. The growing

split between the rivaling PT factions Hamas, and Fatah /

Palestinian Authority on the West Bank, causes great tension and led

to violence between the separated people and among their own

residents. There are serious consequences for the people because of

this. More than half of them view the conditions on the Gaza Strip

as bad or very bad, very few people experience press freedom and

many notice corruption in the governmental institutions.

Furthermore, there is a continuous power struggle within the

organization of Hamas as well, which does not enhance these issues.

The most important initiatives for peace to enable good

governance came with the Oslo Accords in between 1993 – 95. However,

the recent update by the United Nations of the PT to a non-member

observer state possess an immediate threat to the peace process,

because it is in violation with the Oslo Accords which have brought

the most relative peace since decades of the conflict. The high

dependency of the Gaza Strip to immediate aid in the form of food,

17

water, electricity, and financial services place them in an

unfavorable position towards Israel. However, despite the ongoing

rocket attacks, the support of Israel has been flawless. The support

even goes to such an extent, that victims from Hamas terror in

Israel are permitted by the Israeli court to press charges on the

Bank of Israel for supporting the terrorist organization .

Unfortunately, there is too much evidence about the main reason

for a lack of good governance in the Gaza Strip. There have been

some little successes during the process of conflict between Hamas

and the state of Israel, but it seems to be impossible to create a

truly sustainable and peaceful relationship between the neighboring

entities under the current circumstances. To emphasize the main

argument about the cause for the lack of good governance in the Gaza

Strip explicitly; the nature and goal of the terrorist organization

Hamas, which is the total destruction of the sovereign state of

Israel, in which all means seem to be justified.

18

Recommendations

There are some recommendations that could be made to enable good

governance in the Gaza Strip. Although it is realized that they do

not seem very realistic and feasible at the moment, nor in the near

future, they are still made to demonstrate the only true route for

real improvement and to show how easy the process could be in

theory.

First of all, it is recommended that the type of ideology which

Hamas is practicing must be eradicated. The one and only purpose of

extreme islamic jihadist groups such as Hamas, is to completely

destroy the sovereign state of Israel. Let it be clear that there

will be no true opportunity to strive for sustainable peace in order

to install good governance in the Gaza Strip, unless they change

their ideology to recognize the sovereignty of the state of Israel

and act upon accordingly.

Secondly, they have to abort all terrorist activities which

threaten the population of Israel, and harm the international

relationship. Furthermore, this will mean that Hamas should also

stop indoctrinating their youth with pure hate and intolerance, in

order to break through the vicious cycle of mayhem and destruction

for generations to come.

Thirdly, the PT should unify their governance to turn down the

tension between the rivaling political factions and thus enhancing

the unity of their people. Moreover, they should enable their people

to use democratic principles and tools to choose their

representatives and encourage them to participate.

Additionally, they could then seek to improve the mutual

relationship with the state of Israel, in order for them to make it

beneficial for both societies. Two interesting quotes from both

sides of the story follow now, to illustrate the idea that both

Israel and Palestine will have to deal with one another. The first

19

quote is from TIME magazine, and made in New York, November 11,

1974. The second quote is made in a speech at the Knesset after the

end of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, in Israel, on August 14,

2006.

“Palestine is the cement that holds the Arab world together, or it is the explosive that blows it

apart.”

~ Yasser Arafat, former Palestinian leader.

“The truth is that if Israel were to put down its arms there would be no more Israel. If the

Arabs were to put down their arms there would be no more war.” ~ Benjamin

Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister.

20

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