In Israel, talk about a Gaza truce and speculation regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's "deal of the century" peace plan dominates headlines. Some are speaking of creating a seaport for Gaza in Cyprus. Others are speaking about Hamas returning the captive Israelis and bodies of IDF soldiers currently being held by the terrorist group.
Trump has said that his peace plan will include painful concessions for Israel since he already forced a significant Palestinian concession when he relocated the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
For many Israelis, Trump's deal and the Gaza truce are mere distractions from their daily pain. Even though the world has moved on from the period of violence that accompanied the so-called "Great March of Return" and its aftermath, life will never be the same again for Israeli victims of Palestinian terrorism and their families, and it will take a long time to repair the agricultural and other damage done in this recent wave of violence.
For this reason, Canadian Jewish activist Rananah Gemeiner recently arranged a vigil in honor of Israeli victims of Palestinian terror: "We did this because nobody else did. If our own children were murdered because they were protecting their family or just living, we would weep and honor them. Now, we say kaddish for them." The vigil was organized in honor of Yotam Ovadia, a 31-year-old father of two, and Aviv Levi, age 21, who were killed by Palestinian terrorists last month.
Every day, Israeli civilians continue to suffer due to past appeasement to the Palestinian terrorist organizations. Every time Israel makes concessions to the terrorist groups, whether in the framework of the Oslo Accords, the Gaza withdrawal or freeing Palestinian terrorists with Israeli blood on their hands, the security situation deteriorates and more Israelis are murdered. While the details of the Gaza truce and Trump's deal remain to be seen, any deal that involves giving in to the dictates of the terrorist groups will only increase the number of Israeli casualties.
Prominent Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar noted that the Palestinian Authority continues to deceive some Israelis and foreigners, pretending that it wants peace with Israel, and this puts Israel in the uncomfortable position of being forced to make concessions to a terror group that seeks its destruction:
"The PA hates us just as much as they hate Hamas. They want peace without Israel. This is their ultimate goal as they declare in Arabic, not in English and not in Hebrew. At the end of the day, the only agreement that can ensure Israel's security is one based on a credible threat. This is when they will be able to come to terms with Israel. As long as they feel secure for their own lives, they feel that they can squeeze Israel. Hamas could care less about the people in Gaza. For them, a dead Gazan is better than a living one. They would sacrifice practically all of the inhabitants of Gaza in order to save their own lives in the tunnels under Gaza City. This is why only a credible threat to their lives will work."
Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid also believes that the Palestinian terror groups are the root of the problem, implying that any attempts to make peace should focus on directly addressing the Palestinian people themselves rather than the terrorist organizations:
"Many Palestinians feel sorry for what happened along the Israeli-Gazan border over the last five months. I think that the people in Gaza today are the victims of their own leadership. If I want to blame anyone for the Gaza situation, I blame Hamas only. Hamas is horrible first of all to its own people. Ziad Nakhleh of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad sits in Lebanon and calls on the people to fight for Jerusalem. He is so far away from Gaza and does not care about the people for he wants to fulfill his own political interests. While they push the people toward violence, they gain from what is going on. This is what Hamas has achieved from March 30 till today. They have consolidated their rule. Furthermore, the lack of electricity has become a huge business in Gaza. Rich people buy huge electricity generators, which are placed on roads and people can pay to hook in. One kilowatt of electricity that is worth half a shekel is sold for 4 shekels. This is a real hell."
As much as civilians on both sides need quiet, Israeli Druze diplomat Mendi Safadi, who heads the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research and Public Relations, has stressed that surrendering to a cease-fire or making other concessions to Palestinian terror groups "is a serious blow to Israel's deterrent powers and the security of its citizens. The Hamas terror organization has learned that whenever it wants to, it can launch a terror attack against Israeli civilians and once its forces are gathered, Israel will again surrender to its dictates and this will whet the appetite for all kinds of terrorists to attack each time they seek to glorify their name or to raise funds from terror-supporting countries. The conduct of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman regarding what has happened from the March of Return to the arrangements that will come is in my eyes is a serious security failure."
Before Israel signs up for another Gaza truce or Trump's "deal of the century," it must ensure that such deals don't result in more concessions to terrorist organizations, which would lead to more Israelis sharing Ovadia and Levi's fate. As the Talmud states, "Whoever destroys a soul, it is as if he destroyed an entire world." Appeasement to terrorist groups is akin to encouraging murder and must be avoided at all costs.
