http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/opinion/01yousef.html
The New York Times
November 1, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Pause for Peace
By AHMED YOUSEF
Gaza
HERE in Gaza, few dream of peace. For now, most dare only to dream
of a lack of war. It is for this reason that Hamas proposes a
long-term truce during which the Israeli and Palestinian peoples
can try to negotiate a lasting peace.
A truce is referred to in Arabic as a hudna. Typically covering 10
years, a hudna is recognized in Islamic jurisprudence as a
legitimate and binding contract. A hudna extends beyond the Western
concept of a cease-fire and obliges the parties to use the period
to seek a permanent, nonviolent resolution to their differences.
The Koran finds great merit in such efforts at promoting
understanding among different people. Whereas war dehumanizes the
enemy and makes it easier to kill, a hudna affords the opportunity
to humanize ones opponents and understand their position with the
goal of resolving the intertribal or international dispute.
Such a concept a period of nonwar but only partial resolution of a
conflict is foreign to the West and has been greeted with much
suspicion. Many Westerners I speak to wonder how one can stop the
violence without ending the conflict.
I would argue, however, that this concept is not as foreign as it
might seem. After all, the Irish Republican Army agreed to halt its
military struggle to free Northern Ireland from British rule
without recognizing British sovereignty. Irish Republicans continue
to aspire to a united Ireland free of British rule, but rely upon
peaceful methods. Had the I.R.A. been forced to renounce its vision
of reuniting Ireland before negotiations could occur, peace would
never have prevailed. Why should more be demanded of the
Palestinians, particularly when the spirit of our people will never
permit it?
When Hamas gives its word to an international agreement, it does so
in the name of God and will therefore keep its word. Hamas has
honored its previous cease-fires, as Israelis grudgingly note with
the oft-heard words, At least with Hamas they mean what they say.
This offer of hudna is no ruse, as some assert, to strengthen our
military machine, to buy time to organize better or to consolidate
our hold on the Palestinian Authority. Indeed, faith-based
political movements in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Malaysia, Morocco, Turkey and Yemen have used hudna-like strategies
to avoid expanding conflict. Hamas will conduct itself just as
wisely and honorably.
We Palestinians are prepared to enter into a hudna to bring about
an immediate end to the occupation and to initiate a period of
peaceful coexistence during which both sides would refrain from any
form of military aggression or provocation. During this period of
calm and negotiation we can address the important issues like the
right of return and the release of prisoners. If the negotiations
fail to achieve a durable settlement, the next generation of
Palestinians and Israelis will have to decide whether or not to
renew the hudna and the search for a negotiated peace.
There can be no comprehensive solution of the conflict today, this
week, this month, or even this year. A conflict that has festered
for so long may, however, be resolved through a decade of peaceful
coexistence and negotiations. This is the only sensible alternative
to the current situation. A hudna will lead to an end to the
occupation and create the space and the calm necessary to resolve
all outstanding issues.
Few in Gaza dream. For most of the past six months its been
difficult to even sleep. Yet hope is not dead. And when we dare to
hope, this is what we see: a 10-year hudna during which, inshallah
(God willing), we will learn again to dream of peace.
Ahmed Yousef is a senior adviser to the Palestinian prime minister,
Ismail Haniya.