The Palestinians' Three No's: What They Mean

by Bassam Tawil • September 26, 2018 at 5:00 am

When Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad talk about "paying a political price," they are referring to demands that the Palestinian terrorist groups lay down their weapons, halt terrorist attacks on Israel, and abandon their dream of eliminating Israel. These are terms, of course, to which no Palestinian terrorist group could ever afford to agree.
Accepting such conditions would make them look bad in the eyes of their supporters, who would then accuse them of betraying the Arabs and Muslims by failing to fulfill their promise of destroying Israel. As far as these groups are concerned, keeping their weapons is tremendously more important than improving the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
To be clear: when the Palestinian terrorist groups talk about "resistance," they are referring to terror attacks on Israel. These include suicide bombings, launching rockets towards Israel, and hurling explosive devices and firebombs at Israeli soldiers and civilians. These groups do not believe in any form of peaceful and non-violent protests. For them, there is only one realistic option to achieve their goal of destroying Israel: the armed struggle.
Why are the Palestinian terrorist groups conducting indirect talks with Israel to reach a new truce agreement in the Gaza Strip under the auspices of Egypt and the UN? The answer is simple. They want a truce, or period of calm, so that they can continue preparing for the next war against Israel without having to worry about Israeli military operations.

Hamas terrorists, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, parade in the Gaza Strip, July 20, 2017. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

What does Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, mean when it says that it "won't pay any political price" in return for a truce agreement with Israel? Answer: No to recognizing Israel, no to abandoning the dream of eliminating Israel, and no to disarming.

In recent weeks, several Hamas leaders and spokesmen have repeatedly been quoted as saying that their group will not make any political concessions as part of a truce deal with Israel. The statements came as Egypt and the United Nations continue their effort to reach a truce that would end the ongoing violence along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

"We want a decision to end the blockade on the Gaza Strip," Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a recent speech marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of his group. "Any understandings that are reached to end the blockade will not be in return for a political price."

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Help the People of Iran

by Lawrence A. Franklin • September 26, 2018 at 4:30 am

Are the Iranian people actually seeking regime change? If they are, why have past protests failed and how can current demonstrations have a better chance of success?
Currently, Iranians who oppose the Islamist regime are an unarmed population, bereft of leadership, and faced down by hardened militia units that are ultra-loyal to the economic benefits of backing the theocrats in power.
The tragic reality, however, is that without further help to the people of Iran who want an end to repressive laws -- as well as to the regime's squandering of money domestically for corruption and repression, and abroad to fund terrorism and aggression -- we may not see a change either in Iran's regime or its behavior.

An anti-regime protest in Tehran, Iran, in December 2017. (Image source: Fars News/Wikimedia Commons)

During a recent speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted that America would support the Iranian people should they seek to replace their regime. "While it is ultimately up to the Iranian people to determine the direction of their country," Pompeo said, "the United States.... will support [their] long-ignored voice..."

What "direction," then, is that? Are the Iranian people actually seeking regime change? If they are, why have past protests failed and how can current demonstrations have a better chance of success?

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