Netanyahu should ask Israelis for mandate to speak to Hamas

By Ilan Manor

As his father fights for his life in a New York City hospital, Sonny Corleone is faced with uncertainty. The attempt on the Don’s life could constitute a declaration of war by one of the other New York crime families. Entrenched in the family compound, Sonny is encouraged to wait for the dust to settle before mobilizing the troops. His closest advisor, theconsigliore, hopes that clearer minds will prevail as he is aware of Sonny’s susceptibility to his own temper and knee-jerk reactions.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with the Netanyahu government. Within hours of the horrid terrorist bombing that shocked Jerusalem last Wednesday afternoon, several high-ranking ministers were already calling for an immediate and decisive retaliation against Hamas. Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom had even taken the liberty of announcing that the policy of restraint towards the Palestinian terror organizations in Gaza had ended.

It seems that several prominent members of the government believe that the solution to the current escalation along the Gaza border and the retaliation to Wednesday’s bombing are the same: a large-scale military campaign reminiscent of the Cast Lead operation. In other words, they are ready to “go to the mattresses.”

Yet the lessons of the past have taught us that such operations are mere band aids placed on a hemorrhaging wound. During the 2008-2009 three-week bombardment of the Gaza strip, Hamas infrastructure, military bases, command centers, personnel and vehicles were obliterated. By the time the operation had ended, Gaza lay in ruins, the Hamas was a distant memory and the safety of the southern part of Israel was restored. But only for a mere two years.

Netanyahu should ask Israelis for mandate to speak to Hamas
Bomb shelter in southern Israeli town of Sderot (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

If all the Netanyahu government has to offer Israel is yet another limited military campaign against Hamas, it must be decent enough to inform the residents of Sderot and Beersheba of the truth: By perusing such a policy, the current government will never be able to insure their safety for long durations of time; that the most it has to offer them are better built bomb shelters and fortifications in which to stand during the next missile attacks which will surely follow, if not next month then next year.

The prime minister should travel to the south of Israel and hear the anguish of those whose lives have become a chaotic cycle of fear and despair. He must listen to them as they demand that he retaliate with such strength that the Hamas will never dare fire another missile at Israel. Then, Netanyahu will be forced to admit that such a course of actions is simply impossible. That he is a handicapped leader whose hands are tied by the international community which will never stand for a second Cast Lead.

Had Netanyahu surrounded himself with an admirable consigliore, he might have decided to postpone his trip to Russia and instead meet with the populace of Sdeort and make them an offer they can’t refuse.” The prime minister would have asked them for a mandate to seek out a permanent solution to their predicament rather than simply postponing the inevitable. This would be achieved by initiating talks with the Hamas regarding an immediate cease fire to be followed by negotiations towards a peace settlement.

In accordance with this, Netanyahu will finally abandon his attempts to prevent an agreement between the Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority. In fact, he may even choose to broker such an agreement thereby enabling him to negotiate with one Palestinian entity rather than two. If Don Corleone was able to bring all the five families to the negotiation table, surely Netanyahu could do the same.

If he chooses to do so, Netanyahu may find himself abandoned by his right wing political base and forced to go to early elections. But just like Sharon before him, he could be surprised to find that he has won over a much larger political base, that which is committed to the prospect of peace.

Benjamin Netanyahu is a fearful prime minister. He fears opposition leader Tzipi Livni, and he fears Interior Minister Eli Yishai, and most of all he fears Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. But perhaps the time has come for him to dare and present us with his vision for our future.  One can only hope that by the middle of his second term, the prime minister has such a vision in mind.

Ilan Manor is finishing his mass media studies at Tel Aviv University. He is currently involved in a research project conducted at Cambridge University which deals with religious broadcasting in the Middle East. He has previously contributed to the Jerusalem Post website.