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Last update - 02:37 30/12/2008 Stop. Hold your fire By David Grossman Tags: David Grossman, Israel, Gaza  After its severe strike on Gaza, Israel would do well to stop, turn to Hamas' leaders and say: Until Saturday Israel held its fire in the face of thousands of Qassams from the Gaza Strip. Now you know how harsh its response can be. So as not to add to the death and destruction we will now hold our fire unilaterally and completely for the next 48 hours. Even if you fire at Israel, we will not respond with renewed fighting. We will grit our teeth, as we did all through the recent period, and we will not be dragged into replying with force. Moreover, we invite interested countries, neighbors near and far, to mediate between us and you to bring back the cease-fire. If you hold your fire, we will not renew ours. If you continue firing while we are practicing restraint, we will respond at the end of this 48 hours, but even then we will keep the door open to negotiations to renew the cease-fire, and even on a general and expanded agreement. That is what Israel should do now. Is it possible, or are we too imprisoned in the familiar ceremony of war? Advertisement Until Saturday, Israel under Ehud Barak's military leadership showed remarkable cool. It should not lose its cool in the heat of battle. We should not forget even for a moment that the people of the Gaza Strip will remain our close neighbors and that sooner or later we will want to achieve good neighborly relations with them. We should in no way strike them so violently, even if Hamas, for years, has made life intolerably miserable for the people of southern Israel, and even if their leaders have refused every Israeli and Egyptian attempt to reach a compromise to prevent this lastest flare-up. The line of self-control and the awareness of the obligation to protect the lives of the innocent in Gaza as well must be toed even now, precisely because Israel's strength is almost limitless. Israel must constantly check to see when its force has crossed the line of legitimate and effective response, whose goal is deterrence and a restoration of the cease-fire, and from what point it is once again trapped in the usual spiral of violence. Israel's leaders know well that given the situation in the Gaza Strip, it will be very hard to reach a total and unequivocal military solution. The lack of a solution might result in an ongoing ambiguous situation where we have already been: Israel will strike Hamas, it will strike and be struck, strike and be struck, and will become unwillingly enmeshed in every trap a situation like this entails, and will not attain its true and essential goals. It might very quickly discover that it is swept up - a strong military power, but helpless to get itself out of the entanglement - into a maelstrom of violence and destruction. Therefore, stop. Hold your fire. Try for once to act against the usual response, in contrast to the lethal logic of belligerence. There will always be a chance to start firing again. War, as Barak said about two weeks ago, will not run away. International support for Israel will not be damaged, and will even grow, if we show calculated restraint and invite the international and Arab community to intervene and mediate. It is true that Hamas will thus receive a respite with which to reorganize, but it has had long years to do so, and two more days will not really make a difference. And such a calculated lull might change the way Hamas responds to the situation. The response could even give it an honorable way out of the trap it has set for itself. And one more, unavoidable thought: Had we adopted this attitude in July 2006, after Hezbollah abducted the soldiers, had we stopped then, after our first response, and declared we were holding our fire for a day or two to mediate and calm things down, the reality today might be entirely different. This is also a lesson the government should learn from that war. In fact, it might be the most important lesson. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Iranian Jews protest Members of Tehran's small Jewish community demonstrate against IDF operation in Gaza. Missile's view Watch Israel's attack on Gaza from the perspective of the missile.   1.   Finally a bit of wisdom. 02:48  |  Isaiah 30/12/08   2.   They are not Mexicans 09:29  |  Patrick 30/12/08   3.   are you nuts? 12:28  |  Sharon 30/12/08   4.   C`est pire qu`un crime; c`est une faute! 14:23  |  Peder 30/12/08   5.   Totally impossible 14:24  |  CP 30/12/08   6.   the problem 19:21  |  eliyahu 30/12/08   7.   Peder fm Oslo 19:29  |  Zack 30/12/08   8.   Stop. Start thinking 19:33  |  howiej 30/12/08   9.   #Peder, big mouth 19:41  |  Dan 30/12/08   10.   Been there, done that 19:54  |  Jonathan Boyko 30/12/08   11.   "Were that there were more like you in the present day tribe.." 20:02  |  David 30/12/08   12.   stick to writing fiction 20:54  |  Daniel 30/12/08   13.   Too late? 21:26  |  Baz Mann 30/12/08   14.   CP`s comment 21:36  |  Yvan 30/12/08   15.   Re: Peder, big mouth #7 21:54  |  Kate 30/12/08   16.   You are crazy 21:57  |  TR 30/12/08   17.   This aggression is the best 22:03  |  Greg 30/12/08   18.   hizballah, Syria , Iran are watching 22:59  |  Moshe Israel 30/12/08   19.   HOLD YOUR FIRE 10:46  |  Yosef Goldberg 31/12/08   20.   Stop. Hold your fire 14:02  |  J 31/12/08

Read & React Gideon Levy: Are Israel's pilots callous and blind to Gaza's suffering? Responses: 117 Iran Jews stage pro-Palestinian rally near UN offices in Tehran Responses: 72 Israel rejects French proposal for 48-hour Gaza truce, but allows aid transfer Responses: 49 Gaza rocket strikes school in Be'er Sheva Responses: 60 ANALYSIS / Hamas winning battle of public opinion in Arab world Responses: 29 ANALYSIS / Rivalry among Israel's leaders at root of row on Gaza cease-fire Responses: 15 More Headlines 13:46 Gaza rocket barrage hits Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva 14:09 Israel rejects proposal for 48-hour Gaza truce, but permits transfer of aid 13:45 Air strikes in Gaza continue as IDF readies for ground push 13:27 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 13:24 Shin Bet: Hamas has been hit under IAF's Gaza offensive like never before 12:05 ANALYSIS / Rivalry among Israel's leaders at root of row on Gaza cease-fire 13:24 GIDEON LEVY / The IAF, bullies of the clear blue skies 10:29 ANALYSIS / After sterling start to Gaza op, Barak proves to be a petty politician 14:18 Protests abound at T.A. and Haifa Universities; Be'er Sheva students flee Gaza rockets in droves 13:38 As rockets fall, Peres tours Ashkelon and vows IDF is ready for anything 13:53 Iran tells Arab League: The time has come to act over Gaza attacks 03:57 Hundreds across U.S. protest Gaza operation 00:11 Ex-U.S. Army engineer Kadish pleads guilty to spying for Israel 09:26 ANALYSIS / Hamas racks up its first diplomatic victory in Gaza campaign 14:21 Fatah loyalists: Gaza op is 'Allah's revenge' for Hamas actions 02:17 Mayor of rocket-battered Netivot calls for talks with Hamas 06:36 Eichmann trial transcripts now available on Justice Ministry Web site Previous Editions Select Day 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec

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