The relative success of the Northern Ireland peace process is sometimes held up as workable example that can be directly applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadly, this is a misguided and misleading comparison and one that has been employed to justify engaging with Hamas.
While the IRA and others engaged in terrorism, their ultimate aims – the removal of the British from Northern Ireland and unification with the Irish Republic – were rational and reasonable within a political context. The IRA did not advocate the destruction of the British state unlike Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel.
Drawing upon his own personal experience of the Northern Ireland peace process, Nobel peace laureate and former leader of the Ulster Unionists, David Trimble argues in The Guardian that there are crucial differences between the two scenarios and extremists like Hamas should not be indulged:
If negotiations with the IRA led to the peace agreement in Northern Ireland, we are often told, Israel must be prepared to take the same approach with Hamas…
Commentators point animatedly to the elephant in the room – Hamas – who will almost certainly not be attending the talks. Nothing can be achieved, they argue, if the most extremist elements are not at the negotiating table…
The preconditions for engagement were clear for the IRA in the early 1990s, and they are clear for Hamas today – renounce violence, recognise Israel, and accept previous peace agreements. Hamas must be encouraged to take the same sort of steps the IRA took towards the negotiating table. But this will be undermined if it feels it does it it on its terms and continues to reject a compromise solution. We must make sure that events like the Annapolis conference are successful and provide Hamas with further impetus to engage in a process, with all Palestinians and Israelis, of negotiation and compromise.
If there is one lesson to learn from the Northern Ireland experience, it is that preconditions are crucial in ending violence and producing a settlement. Being overgenerous to extremist groups is like giving sweets to a spoilt child in the hope that it will improve its behaviour – it usually results in worse actions. Our experience suggests that while some flexibility is desirable, there have to be clear principles and boundaries. A failure to recognise this risks drawing the wrong conclusions from the recent history of Northern Ireland and fundamentally misunderstanding the peace process.
Read the full article here and send letters in support of David Trimble to The Guardian – [email protected].
GOOGLE EARTH USED TO FIRE MISSILES AT ISRAEL
In one of a series of short films for The Guardian, Clancy Chassay witnesses Palestinian terrorists launching Qassams from Gaza into Israel and finds that they are using Google Earth to prepare their attacks. Click on the image below to view this eye-opening video and take action through GIYUS by elevating this story on the Reddit website. Also send your feedback to Google Earth stating that this technology should not be allowed to assist terrorists.
ALAN JOHNSTON’S KIDNAP ORDEAL
BBC reporter Alan Johnston has talked in detail about his 114 days of captivity in Gaza. The full story can be read on BBC Online while Panorama will be broadcasting Kidnapped – The Alan Johnston Story on Thursday 25 October, 21.00 BST on BBC One.
