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A deal with thugs
By Ari Shavit
Tags: Hamas, Mahmoud Abbas, Israel

We have a neighbor who is a murderer. Not the criminal kind, thank God. Not a psychopath, God forbid. No, our neighbor is a religious murderer. A murderer in the name of God and for God. A murderer who wants to eradicate us and get rid of us so that we will not pollute his sacred soil with our presence. A murderer who believes that the world will be better, purer, if we are not here. A serious murderer, a murderer with values, a murderer with a mission.

Our killer-neighbor is not heartless. He is not without compassion. It would not occur to him, for example, to slaughter our children and wives. It would not occur to him to drown us all in the sea. Because of his human virtues and morals, he does not wish for each and every one of us to die a strange death.

Instead, the neighbor wants to kill our national existence. In the term used by the late Yehoshafat Harkabi, his declared goal is politicide, not genocide. Lying in his bed at night, our neighbor fantasizes about the death of the State of Israel. In his actions during the day, the neighbor tries to hasten the death of the State of Israel. In the name of God, the neighbor wants to murder the State of Israel.
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The neighbor is a murderer, but the neighbor is not delusional. He has good reasons to hate us. Exactly 60 years ago, we deprived his mothers and fathers of their land. We emptied out their villages. We destroyed their homes. We wiped their Palestine off the face of the earth. And in the great heat of May-July 1948, we sent them south, in long columns. We sent them all the way to Gaza, like the biblical Hagar, leaving in their hearts that deep pain that over the years became a deep hatred, a deep hatred that became a claim for absolute justice. An absolute justice that leaves no room for life. Certainly not for our life.

That is why we have such difficulties with the neighbor. The guilt and the terror are profound. The cultural gaps are unbearable. For although we live closely, side by side, we are very far apart. Opposites, really. The neighbor from Hamas is dispossessed, and we have property. The neighbor is hungry, and we are well-fed. The neighbor is a zealot, and we are godless. The neighbor demands justice-to-the-death, and we are looking for some deal that will let us live.

He is no sucker, that neighbor. In 2006 he surprised us by triumphing over Mahmoud Abbas. In 2007 he surprised us by driving out Mohammed Dahlan and taking over Gaza. In 2008 he surprised us by creating a balance of deterrence against the hollow bragging of the Israeli government. True, the neighbor is still fairly weak. He cannot rise up and kill us today, nor will he be able to do so tomorrow. But with every year he grows stronger. With every year, he advances and makes incursions, slowly crumbling the settlements we built over the ruins of those villages.

We, for our part, ignore him. We act like a wealthy man who lives a life of comfort on his estate without realizing that a disenfranchised, angry neighbor is watching him the whole time. For the good bourgeoisie that we are, after all, the most convenient way to cope with a murdering neighbor is to ignore him. Not to see him, not to hear him, not to speak with him. To pretend that he is not there, at the edge of the garden, just outside the garden. To pretend that there is another, more polite neighbor with whom we can speak. And to believe, truly to believe, that peace and security can one day be obtained in this neighborhood without solving the problem of the neighbor. Without seeing that he is here. Here all along. And not going anywhere.

There are only two ways to deal with a killer-neighbor: to hit him or to disarm him. Perhaps one day there will no longer be any choice. Despite the terrible cost involved, Israel may eventually have to enter the neighbor's crowded trailer and beat him senseless. But before we are dragged into Gaza, we must exhaust the other possibility. We should offer Hamas a deal: an Islamic republic in Gaza in exchange for full demilitarization. A full and fulfilling life for a Muslim community of brothers, in exchange for giving up violence and arms altogether.

Hamas will probably say no. The neighbor tends to prefer the deaths of Israelis over the lives of Palestinians. But if there is any chance of a frank negotiation with Hamas, this is the path the talks should take. Not a Carter-style illusion, not the temporary tactic of a passing tahadiyeh [truce], but a tough deal with tough terms. A street deal. A deal with thugs. A deal meant to give those who live on the other side of the fence a genuine opportunity to lay down the sword, pick up the Koran and become real neighbors.
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  1.   Incorrect use of the term "murderer" 11:47  |  Rowan Berkeley 17/04/08
  2.   " ... pick up the Koran and become real neighbors..." 11:54  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 17/04/08
  3.   Dear Mr. Shavit ! What Koran (c.c) means to you ? 11:56  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 17/04/08
  4.   MR. SHAVIT, WHY YOU THINK YOU DESERVE A GOOD NEIGHBOR ? 11:57  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 17/04/08
  5.   MR. SHAVIT ! WHAT KIND OF ILLISION, TALMUDIST ISRAEL IN ? 11:59  |  Atilla Karagözoğlu 17/04/08
  6.   WHO CAN BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR TO A TALMUDIST RADICAL ? 12:00  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 17/04/08
  7.   YOU ADVICE TO PICK UP KORAN (C.C), WE ADVICE YOU PUT TALMUD DOWN 12:01  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 17/04/08
  8.   Neighbours and murderers 12:04  |  Said 17/04/08
  9.   IF KORAN (C.C) CAME TO JEWS, JEWS WOULD JUST FLY AS BIRDS 12:04  |  ATİLLA KARAGÖZOĞLU 17/04/08
  10.   #1 more from the berk from berkeley 12:05  |  v hardman 17/04/08
  11.   hamas is building a dterrant to zionist terror 12:10  |  get a clue 17/04/08
  12.   forgett it mr. shavit 12:18  |  abraham 17/04/08
  13.   Shavit,why don`t you write an eulogy over Germans driven off Pola 12:28  |  Absolute Sweden 17/04/08
  14.   your radicals are 100000000 times MORTAL DANGEREOUS than my ones 12:29  |  ... 17/04/08
  15.   Ari Shavit, think again 12:33  |  zeev 17/04/08
  16.   Islamic FACISTS are baby beside Talmudist FACISTS 12:33  |  ... 17/04/08
  17.   Islamic FACISTS ... Talmudist FACISTS ....Vatican FACISTS 12:35  |  ... 17/04/08
  18.   Give it to them 12:42  |  lily 17/04/08
  19.   The World is as foolish as Ari Shavit! 12:53  |  Akram Zekaria 17/04/08
  20.   # 6 Atilla K 13:07  |  17 17/04/08
  21.   on an Absolute Dimwitted - #13 13:14  |  zeev 17/04/08
  22.   ATILLA ADMIT IT: YOU ARE A SABBATEAN JEW ! 13:22  |  Yaakov Kerido 17/04/08
  23.   DENIAL OF JEWISH RIGHT TO ISRAEL IS BLASPHEMY AS PER HOLY QUR`AN 13:31  |  Abdel-Salam 17/04/08
  24.   Hamas is only interested in the "Islamic Republic of Palestine 14:04  |  PETER SM 17/04/08
  25.   We wiped their Palestine off the face of the earth???? 14:05  |  Marty Bluke 17/04/08
  26.   to :17 14:14  |  ... 17/04/08
  27.   Zeev who has portrait of Mao in his loo and 14:22  |  Absolute Sweden 17/04/08
  28.   Yaakov Kerido, My true brother 14:24  |  Atilla Liman 17/04/08
  29.   SOLUTION: GAZA A NEW DUBAI; PARTS OF W.BANK FEDERATED WITH JORDAN 14:31  |  G. Marcus 17/04/08
  30.   #24: HAMAS ONLY INTERESTED IN ISL CALIPHATE FROM GULF TO ATLANTIC 14:42  |  G. Marcus 17/04/08
  31.   what happened to you, Ari Shavit? 14:55  |  ivo 17/04/08
  32.   The real issue is new elections 15:07  |  Motic 17/04/08
  33.   Best wishes for a ... 15:10  |  Ben Azai 17/04/08
  34.   It`s hard to find a word of truth in this piece. 15:24  |  Chaim 17/04/08
  35.   Just what the middle east needs 16:29  |  Michael 17/04/08
  36.   use the good word resistant 16:30  |  maghrebi 17/04/08
  37.   # 7 Atilla...my advice is to put both those books down 16:32  |  Lynn 17/04/08
  38.   Sorry Ari Shavit PICKING UP THE KORAN WONT 16:34  |  Dagma 17/04/08
  39.   t o Marty Bluke # 25 - PALESTINE was never ruled by Arabs 16:56  |  Dagma 17/04/08
  40.   Marty is Confused 17:02  |  Matthew 17/04/08
  41.   The God is Secular, Lynn 17:25  |  Atilla 17/04/08
  42.   " if there is any chance " 17:37  |  KUTW 17/04/08
  43.   Not heartless??? 17:42  |  how the hell? 17/04/08
  44.   And how are you going to demilitarize this state? 18:12  |  McQueen 17/04/08
  45.   Shavit - Acting Screwy 18:13  |  Tod Zuckerman 17/04/08
  46.   It DOES occur to Hamas to slaughter your women and children 18:13  |  McQueen 17/04/08
  47.   Atilla: sure He`s secular, but he sees some religious people on - 18:22  |  ivo 17/04/08
  48.   The thugs being the Israelis, of course 18:27  |  John 17/04/08
  49.   If there is a murderous neighbour in the Middle East 18:28  |  John 17/04/08
  50.   there were times ... 18:33  |  Atilla 17/04/08
  51.   Dear Mr. PM Olmert & Leaders of the World 18:49  |  Please think of us! 17/04/08
  52.   I AM THE ONLY POWERRRRRRRRRRRRRR, PRAY TO ME IDIOTS :) 18:55  |  I AM WORLDDDDDDDDDDD 17/04/08
  53.   Poverty should be abolished 19:04  |  mohamed cohen 17/04/08
  54.   rhetoric 19:13  |  khairi janbek 17/04/08
  55.   Peace around the table 19:35  |  Poster 17/04/08
  56.   But "rich fulfilling life" means killing Jews for the 72 virgins! 19:54  |  Dr. L. Brnd 17/04/08
  57.   If only such a deal could be made 20:20  |  David G 17/04/08
  58.   To Mohamed and Arabs living in misery 20:55  |  Peaceful solution 17/04/08
  59.   Would the population of Gaza stand up? 21:40  |  Jo 17/04/08
  60.   2nd Try,Haaretz,how can you print such garbage! 21:43  |  lakshmi 17/04/08
  61.   #49 mohamed cohen 21:48  |  MaryRose 17/04/08
  62.   It`s really quite simple! End the Occupation! 21:55  |  lakshmi 17/04/08
  63.   Ending the international boycott of Gaza, what does it actually 22:08  |  JS 17/04/08
  64.   Shavit - some constructive criticizm for you 22:26  |  Israel Israeli 17/04/08
  65.   haaretz 22:37  |  does it matter 17/04/08
  66.   Wait... Wait... Wait... 01:12  |  BamBoo 18/04/08
  67.   Olmert Government has no backbone and is defeatist 05:17  |  Rachel Rosenthal 18/04/08
  68.   Atilla Karagözoglu 04:28  |  Gregorio Rubinstein 21/04/08
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