Why are you asking for a ceasefire?

Do you have a path forward?

I see demonstrations and protests demanding an immediate ceasefire with no real viable plan to bring the two sides together and force them to come to an agreement, supported by their populations, that will bring about lasting peace.

It is a complex dispute, I do not exaggerate, and slogans and demands for a two-state or one-state solution, reflect a naive understanding of the situation. (At worst, they are calls to genocide for the over seven million Jews in Israel.)

Complexity and context

The present fighting in Gaza is a continuation of the war over the 1947 partition plan for Mandatory British Palestine. The Jewish population accepted the plan. The Arab population in Palestine, along with neighboring Arab states, rejected the plan. Local Arabs, and the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, invaded.

The result of that war: Israelis living in their new nation with full self-determination and Palestinians living in territory ruled by their Arab neighbors. Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip. Jordan occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Many Palestinians formerly living in what became the new state of Israel were displaced to Gaza and the West Bank. Others became refugees in neighboring Arab states. Due to the turmoil, Arab Jews were forced to become refugees and were welcomed by the new Israeli state. Some 650,000 of these Jews resettled in Israel during the 20th century. An additional 250,000 Jews settled in Europe, North America, and other locations outside of the Middle East.

How did the 1948 ceasefire work out?

The 1948 war ended with a cease-fire. The result: wars, spasms of violence, and thousands of deaths. Over the years, slow progress toward peace has been made. Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan. The Abraham Accords. The Oslo Accords.

At every instance when a cease-fire was arranged, there was no enforceable plan for the future. After interludes of lower levels of hostility, violence would erupt only to be stopped — temporarily — by another ceasefire. This is especially true since Hamas gained control over Gaza.

What will be the result of a new ceasefire?

So what will a new ceasefire gain beyond another lull before violence again erupts and more death and destruction commences? Will a ceasefire make the violence worse in the next round?

The problem is not that Israel would not negotiate. If the Netanyahu government refuses to negotiate in good faith, there are mechanisms to allow the government to fall and new elections to form. A new government would take its place. Israel is a thriving democracy and its citizens decide who leads them.

The problem is with Hamas, an extremist terror organization that has a stranglehold on its rule of Gaza and a strong presence in the West Bank. There is no dissent, no vestige of human rights or free speech in Gaza. And they are without compromise in their efforts to bring about the total destruction of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian state comprising all of what was British Mandatory Palestine without Jews. To this end, they use any tactic they can, from murderous terror raids on Israeli civilians to the use of their own civilians as human shields. They have no intention of negotiating peace. On the contrary, cease-fires are only a tactic to give them more time to replenish their stockpiles of missiles and build underneath schools and hospitals their underground tunnels and bunkers. More time to create an environment that endangers more innocent civilians.

Hamas practices total war, utilizing any means at their disposal to achieve their objective, the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. What can be gained by a cease-fire? Just another round of slaughter of Jews and Arabs to come in a year or two.

Without a ceasefire

Israel is not prosecuting a war of extinction of Palestinians. It has a professional civilian army with a strong code of ethics. Efforts are made to move innocent civilians away from combat areas. To protect innocent residents in Gaza, leaflets are dropped, phone calls are made, and time is given to allow people to move to safer areas.

Schools, mosques, and hospitals used to shield Hamas command bunkers and other combat operations are legitimate targets.

Allowing Israel to continue its operations to root out Hamas or, better yet, gain their surrender will give Israel the ability to destroy Hamas’s terror infrastructure. It will create an atmosphere for a negotiated peace and the creation of a free and democratic Gaza. One able to rebuild itself and live in peace with Israel as its neighbor.

Forcing a ceasefire means prolonging the conflict and increasing suffering

If Israel is forced into another indecisive ceasefire, then Hamas wins again. The terrorist acts continue and Israel is forced to respond to protect their citizens. With outside pressure preventing resolution, the two sides can not be forced to come together and make needed compromises so a lasting peace can be created. We have seen the same phenomenon in many modern conflicts. And the bloodshed continues, ever more destabilizing the world.