I wrote this on a whim, and the main idea is spread out, but it’s all there…

“Actions, more than words”

I’ll get straight to it. I see Hamas slowly transforming itself into an outfit that doesn’t quite fit its stereotype. If Hamas is the terrorist organization I think of when I know of what they have done, it confuses me when I see the same leaders dressed in suits, negotiating agreements and representing a quasi state. Terrorism is becoming more chic these days.

With that in mind, let me add that the recent Mecca agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas on a unity government has put Israel in a bind. The ball is in out court in this very long game of tennis war. Does Israel recognize this government that is composed of an organization we negotiated with, and an organization we are still at war with? And what about the agreement, whereby Hamas will “honour” all previous agreements signed by the PLO/PA and Israel? What, in fact, does honour actually mean here?

Israel’s expected response has been to declare that the Mecca agreement has not gone far enough. That honouring an agreement is not the same as accepting an agreement, and that partial recognition is no recognition at all. And so Israel has hit back the tennis ball into the court of the Palestinians, who are now wondering what exactly to do with that tennis ball.

Because as I see it, what Hamas agreed to at Mecca is as far as it will go for a long time to come. When you think about it, Hamas has done much this year in terms of shifting its presented character around. It has largely abided by a cease fire with Israel (unfortunately broken when it partook in the attack and kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit). Hamas has become a political party and agreed to participate in Palestinian Authority legislative elections, which by the way, is a product of the Oslo Accords. And then there are the nuances in Hamas official talk, whereby it would accept a long term “hunda” with Israel at the 1967 borders. And now Mecca.

So let me repeat. I do not see Hamas going much farther than it has at Mecca in terms of recognizing Israel. “Honouring” or whatever it may be is the farthest Hamas will go. So then, what do we make of this?

I am a true believer in the “actions speak louder than words” idea. It’s useful in conflict management, especially in a region where pride exists above all, and where accepting the other is tantamount to a strike against pride. But actions are often not. Are we really going to let ourselves get bogged down in semantics? Recognition? What does that even exactly mean? I do not want to get into a long diatribe on international law and the concept of recognition, because what I am saying here is actions speak louder than words.

Here is how I see it. Just this week, a terrorist was captured inside Israel ready to commit a large scale terrorist attack. The terrorist hailed from Islamic Jihad, still at war with Israel. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority it controls are aware of who these men are, and where they operate. And let’s be clear here, Islamic Jihad is a small organization when compared to Fatah and Hamas. And so if Hamas were to heed the actions speak louder than words principle, it would do its best to prevent Islamic Jihad from committing terrorist attacks against Israel. What a confidence builder that would be, if Hamas were to arrest and imprison individuals who commit terrorist attacks against Israel.

Israel, for its part, should head its part of the road map and immediately dismantle all settler outposts and cease construction of settlements. Just this week a report emerged for Peace Now that says 2000 settlers live in scattered outposts and they continue to grow.

And of course, there is the issue of prisoners, which both sides must come to an agreement over. Our soldier is still in the hands of the kidnappers, and thousands of Palestinians are languishing in our jails. Such a substantive issue ought to be dealt with now, and not to be left to be forgetten.

These are just three examples of outstanding issues that must immediately be dealt with, and could be dealt with without any “recognition”. Actions speak louder than words. Dealing with these and other issues are much, much more important than getting bogged down over recognition.

The bottom line here is, it would be a terrible shame on the peoples of the region to let any chance of a settlement get bogged down over semantics and words. Because in the end of the day, conflict itself is a manifestation of not recognizing the other- in technical terms and in human terms. A settlement of conflict is in itself recognition by both sides of the other. Any final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will absolutely involve mutual recognition, and so then why should we let semantics serve as a barrier now, when we all know at the end of the day it will be dealt with?

Actions speak louder than words. Both sides much build some confidence here, because there is much to build.