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Hamas spokesman voices rare optimism regarding Gaza truce By Avi Issacharoff Tags: Israel, Hamas, Gaza Strip "Nothing is impossible," said Palestinian parliament member and Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Salah al-Bardawil, about the possibility of a peace agreement between Israel and his organization in wake of the cease-fire, or tahadiyeh, that took effect Thursday. While many in Israel are pessimistic about its chances of success, things look a little different on the Palestinian side, and in Hamas in particular. Unlike some of his Hamas colleagues, Bardawil does not act horrified when hearing the words "peace" and "Israel" put together. "The Arab world has already outstretched its hand for peace with the Israelis in the past," he says. "The ideas of Ahmed Yassin [Hamas' founder and former leader], who supported a cease-fire for some 15-20 years, focused on peace, not war. Hamas people who insist that there will never be peace with Israel do so because they are skeptical about the intentions of Israel's leadership. Everyone on your side is saying that the hudna [truce] is an opportunity for Hamas to narrow the military gap, but it's actually a historic opportunity for Israel and for all the sides involved to live in peace, and to build a future for the next generations." Still, Bardawil, 49, a literature professor from Khan Yunis who has been a member of Hamas for the past 20 years, is careful not to sound overly optimistic. In a telephone conversation, he says: "After years of fighting, each side has doubts about the other side's seriousness in upholding the cease-fire. Your side says that the small factions are liable to blow it to pieces, but they have all pledged to abide by it. Experience shows that when Hamas commits to something, it makes sure to keep its promises." Advertisement And if rockets are fired at Israel? What will you do with the people responsible? Bardawil: "I'm not going to say that we'll start deploying forces at the border and turn into the Palestinian Authority, which works to safeguard Israel's security interest. But we made a decision that anyone who fires rockets at Israel will be doing so without our approval. We'll let the organization with which he is affiliated deal with him. If it's someone who doesn't belong to any organization, measures will be taken against him. Anyone who violates the factions' decision on the cease-fire is harming the Palestinian interest and we will deal with him accordingly." Bardawil is not the only optimistic voice within Hamas when it comes to the cease-fire. Right now, the organization has a clear interest in preserving the agreement, since its conditions serve it well. The opening of the border crossings and the lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, without any further restrictions on Hamas gaining strength, might help to explain the positive forecasts about the future of relations between Israel and "Hamastan." "Today, the relations between Israel and Hamas are those of enemies," Bardawil explains. "But during past negotiations between Hamas and Fatah we agreed on 'the national reconciliation agreement,' which declares that the Palestinian state will be established within the 1967 borders. Israel mustn't pass up such an agreement with Hamas - otherwise an ideology more extreme than Hamas will be the result. Israel has to understand that nowadays, Hamas is a factor that balances the radical and out-of-control voices in both the Arab and the Muslim world." However, it's hard to ignore the more hawkish voices in Hamas, which see the cease-fire as little more than a timeout, allowing the organization to build up its military forces in anticipation of the future - when they envision wiping Israel off the map. But according to Bardawil, the Hamas members who speak in such terms are merely voicing religious ideas. "It's impossible to change religious beliefs," he says. "But the conflict between us and Israel is political and not religious." So why don't you recognize Israel? "We won't repeat Fatah's mistakes and get into the whole adventure of recognizing Israel. To this day, the borders of this state remain uncertain. It's too early to talk about negotiations with Israel. The cease-fire is a kind of de facto recognition of this entity, just as Israel recognizes the existence of Hamas. We cannot deny the reality of its existence." Who's the winner and who's the loser when it comes to the cease-fire? "The agreement meets the interests of both sides. No one won, but the truce benefits both Israel and Hamas. It's only natural for each side to try to portray the move as a victory for itself and to boast of its achievements. In the end, everyone gains. Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to the cease-fire." Consternation in Fatah Not surprisingly, the cease-fire agreement is causing Fatah and the Palestinian Authority more than a little consternation. "Israel surrendered to Hamas' 'freedom fighters.' This constitutes a big victory for the Islamic organizations, one that follows on the heels of Hezbollah's victory in Lebanon," said a former Fatah official in the Gaza Strip, who preferred to remain anonymous. The criticism Fatah officials reserve for the cease-fire has yet to be voiced openly (perhaps because, officially, the PA supports the move), though it can still be widely heard. In the view of many in the PA and Fatah, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government has done Hamas' public relations a great service by agreeing to the cease-fire. They expect Hamas to portray the truce as a victory for the policy of the "resistance" - Israel will once again appear as a weak entity, a "spider web," and PA President Mahmoud Abbas will sink into oblivion. They further expect that, in six months or so, Hamas will demand a truce in the West Bank, too, and Israel, seeking to avoid another military confrontation, will succumb to the Islamic organization's violent pressure. But the Fatah member nonetheless remained optimistic when asked whether the cease-fire would weaken his organization. In his view, the truce is too fragile to last and to have an impact on reality. "Today, you can't really say that Hamas has total control over the Gaza Strip; it's quite likely that the small organizations will violate the cease-fire," he says. "On the other hand, I'm sure that Israel won't abide by the cease-fire either. Besides, for now at least, it looks like the Rafah border crossing will remain closed. If it doesn't open, the truce won't last very long. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Kosher Idol A new Haredi reality show called 'The Upcoming Voice' makes 'American Idol' kosher. Chief Rabbi's savior New look at Nazi-era papers names mysterious rescuer of future Chief Rabbi.   1.   I`M OPTIMISTIC TOO 21:26  |  indrajaya 20/06/08   2.   Optimism 22:55  |  jj 20/06/08   3.   Mr. Salah al Bardawil, the tragedies 23:38  |  Zolman ben Moshe 20/06/08   4.   Hamas has always been serious about the ceasefire,the ball is now 23:58  |  lakshmi 20/06/08   5.   rare optimism 00:26  |  Akiva P 21/06/08   6.   Salah al-Bardawil is interesting, although i`m not buying - 01:42  |  ivo 21/06/08   7.   Abbas has always been the real threat to israeli security 03:50  |  Voice of Reason 21/06/08   8.   Hamas Israeli truce 04:02  |  Jon Phillips 21/06/08   9.   The pals wil violate the truce 04:09  |  Adrian de Klerk 21/06/08   10.   i`m a worried optimist 06:17  |  michael 21/06/08   11.   Weapons 06:45  |  Matthew Houston 21/06/08   12.   Irrelevant! Listen only to Meshal. 09:24  |  S 21/06/08   13.   Optimism 09:35  |  Job Mongare 21/06/08   14.   Peace 09:43  |  Job Mongare 21/06/08   15.   It`s important to pay close attention to what Palestinian ... 09:48  |  Jean Van Daem 21/06/08   16.   Hamas too weak for peace 14:06  |  Star of David 21/06/08   17.   optimistic number 1. 14:42  |  Joseph 21/06/08   18.   good. stop the smuggling, pour your efforts and money on gazzans 15:13  |  bashar 21/06/08   19.   not religious? 15:41  |  Dik 21/06/08   20.   Would like to touch base with Peace Man and Hope Man these days 16:24  |  Anyone have the link 21/06/08   21.   Salah al-Bardawil sounds like 18:46  |  Robert Haymond 21/06/08   22.   Indrajayah # 1 19:17  |  SABRA 21/06/08   23.   Of Course Hamas would voice Optimism... 19:31  |  Natasha 21/06/08   24.   OLMERT MUST GO NOW AND KADIMA TOO 19:56  |  TheThreadmill 21/06/08   25.   To Jon Phillips # 8 - Real Peace. 21:20  |  Dagma 21/06/08   26.   #14 Job the rabid racist in Texas 23:24  |  Labhras 21/06/08

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