Should Israel negotiate with Hamas?

Introduction

Over the past year the conflict in Israel between the Arab nationals who claim autonomy over an area known as the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government and its military has become a major international concern.  The Israeli government has been under severe scrutiny for not only its conduct, but its refusal to negotiate with the forces currently in control of the area.  This conflict stretches back many decades, and is part of the larger conflict between the Jewish people and the Arab world, a conflict which is itself nearly 4 thousand years old.

I will be looking specifically at whether the Israeli government is justified in its refusal to negotiate with Hamas.  To his end I will be making 3 arguments as follows:

1.  Hamas is a terrorist organisation

2.  Hamas demands the destruction of Israel and the kulling of the Jewish people

3.  Following from argument 2, and Hamas's actions towards this end, Israel is under real threat

With these three arguments I will demonstrate that not only is Israel justified in not negotiating with Hamas, but that Israel can not, and should not negotiate with Hamas.

A few disclaimers

Before I begin with my arguments, there are several things that I want to make clear.

1.  I am not arguing on whether Israel has legitimate claims to the area of the Gaza strip and West Bank.

2.  I am not arguing on whether Israel has done anything wrong throughout the conflict.

3.  I am not arguing on whether Hamas is justified in its actions.

4.  I am not arguing on whether a one-state or two-state solution is best, or if either is even possible.

I am simply arguing with regard to whether Israel is justified in its refusal to negotiate with Hamas.

The Arguments

Hamas is a terrorist organisation

Hamas has been defined as several different things by several different organisations, commisions, countries and by millions of people around the world.  Some have called it a humanitarian organisation, others a community organisation, and yet others a political party.  My argument is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation.

What is a terrorist organisation?

Each person has a subtly different definition of what exactly a terrorist organisation is.  For this argument, I will use the Oxford Dictionary definition of what a 'terrorist organisation' is.

Terrorism is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (1989:1326) as "use of violence and threats of violence, esp[ecially] for political purposes".  It also defines organisation as"organised group of people; system".  From these definitions it becomes clear that a terrorist organisation is thus any group of people, or a system, that is organised around the central tenet of using violence and the threat of violence in order to achieve their goals, especially those of a political nature.

Hamas, the terrorist organisation

Over the years of Hamas's existence, it has both directly (as in the case of the 1990s and early 2000s suicide bombings) and indirectly (through the encouragement of independant terrorist acts - 2011 bus bombing in Jerusalem comes to mind) conducted terrorist attacks against the Israeli government and people.  It has struck indescriminately against military and civilian targets.  Hamas has orchestrated or sported attacks that have caused the death of over two thousand Israeli people, both military and civilian.

Beyond the terrorist attacks Hamas has perpetrated or encouraged/actively supported, it has not shied away from using civilians as human shields against retaliation by the Israeli Defence Force.  Not only has it used civilians as human shields against retaliation, but it has acted in such a way as to actively promote rataliatory actions that would incur civilians casualties in order to gain public support across the world.

As stated by Brigitte Gabriel in her interview on Fox News, Hamas militants would move from house to house, firing a rocket from the street in front of each house at Israel.  This would ensure that when Israel fired retaliatory rockets or artillery, the fire would hit civilian buildings and kill civilians.  This tactic is used in order to garner support for their compaign against Israel

Hamas demands the destruction of Israel and the kulling of the Jewish people

The Hamas Charter/Covenant (1988) calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, and for the kulling of all the Jewish people across the world.  It acts in furtherence of this goal through it's use of terrorist attacts, sabotage, kidnapping and killing.  Members of the international Hamas community have attacked, assaulted and perpetrated violence against civilians and people supporting Israel all across the world.

Israel is under real threat

As is evident from the charter of Hamas, and its actions towards achieving its goal or eradicating Israel and all Jewish people, through the use of terrorism, it is clear that Israel is under a very real threat.  It's people live under the reality of being struck by a Hamas fired rocket at any moment.  The only reason more people haven't died in Israel is thanks to the rocket defense system the IDF has in place, and due to the rudimentary nature of the weapons used by Hamas.

Conclusion

Following from my three arguments, it is clear that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that not only demands the destruction and kulling of the Israel and the Jewish People, but has been actively seeking to fulfil that goal.  It has acted as is befitting a terrorist organisation, proving time and again that it does not care for the people under its charge (the Arab people living in the Gaza Strip).  It has frequently diverted aid funds and construction materials intended to help rebuild the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip to improve the lives of the civilians, to fund and further its own militant/terrorist projects.

Though Hamas has gained a majority vote during the last elections, it is clear that it does not hold the needs of its people at heart.  It acts for the organisation's personal gain, and not as a government should.  It does not govern its people, but instead uses them as war assets.  This conduct completely destroys its claims to legitimacy as a government.

Standard international policy on dealing with terrorist organisations

The standard policy of most countries around the world, is that they do not negotiate with terrorists, or terrorist organisations.  As a government, you can not negotiate with an organisation that not only demands you destruction, and the extermination of your people, but actively seeks that outcome.  America is a firm upholder of this policy.

Many proponents of negotiating with Hamas state that it is the government of the area of the Gaza Strip, and should thus be dealt with as a legitimate government.  As I have proven, these claims are completely false.  Not only is Hamas ruling through fear, but it is also completely failing in its duties to its people.  It is as much a legitimate government ans ISIS is in Syria.

Through my arguments it is clear that not only is Israel Justified in not negotiating with the terrorist organisation that is Hamas, but is should not, and can not negotiate with this organisation.  As long as Hamas holds its charter that calls for the extermination of the Jewish people, and the eradication of the country of Israel, Israel can not negotiate with Hamas.  To do so would be to set themselves up for their own death.

Despite this, Israel has on multiple occations offered to - and attempted to - negotiate with first the previous Fatah organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, and then with Hamas once it siezed power.  All Israel's offers were turned down and refused by Hamas.  This coupled with their attacks on Israel forced it into the conflict we see today.

If Hamas truly wishes for peace, it should either radically revise its charter, or step down as the ruling organisation in the Gaza strip to an organisation that is not terrorist.

Footnote:

Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think.