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ABSTRACT
Ceasefires are a difficult thing to achieve. No more so than in the conflicts of the Middle East. Without ceasefires civilians caught in wars remain vulnerable. As recent events in the Middle East have demonstrated though ceasefires are difficult to negotiate and are far more likely to breakdown than succeed. When it comes to the notion of negotiating ceasefires with Islamist groups, in particular, there is a widely held belief in Western policy-making circles that the task is even harder if not impossible. This is because such counterparts are frequently viewed as holding absolutist goals and positions which are entirely incompatible with peace-making. In this article we present analysis of one such group the Palestinian Hamas movement. we find evidence that far from seeking to prolong conflict Hamas has offered ceasefires and calms on repeated occasions to Israel. This article contends that the willingness of Hamas, however, is circumscribed by the context of conflict and its other actors, as well as the unwillingness of mediators and negotiations to explore inclusion of such groups into the political process.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Beverley Milton-Edwards is Professor of Politics at the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. She is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center (BDC), Qatar. In this context, the author acknowledges the kind support of BDC Director Tarik Yousef and staff. The author extends her thanks to the anonymous reviewers of this paper.
Notes
1 Milton-Edwards and Farrell, Hamas.
2 Gunning, “Peace”; Stedman, “Spoiler.”
3 Perry and Negrin, Theory and Practice.
4 Fortna, Peacetime.
5 These ceasefires are known in Arabic as hudna or pauses in conflict tahdiyeh.
6 The military wing of Hamas is known as the Izz-a-din al-Qassam Brigades.
7 Beaty, Effects.
8 DeSoto, “Ending Violent Conflict”; Zartman, “Mediation.”
9 Touval, “Ethical Dilemmas”; Hauss, International Conflict.
10 In the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, civilian casualty rates on both sides are higher than military ones (http://www.btselem.org/statistics).
11 Fortna, Peacetime.
12 Touval, “Ethical Dilemmas”; Zartman, Peacemaking in International.
13 Darby and McGinty, Contemporary Peacemaking; Ramsbotham, Woodhouse, and Miall, Contemporary Conflict.
14 Crocker, Taming Intractable Conflicts.
15 Reid, “Finding a Peace”; Bercovitch and Gartner, “Overcoming Obstacles.”
16 Crocker, Taming Intractable Conflicts; Zartman, Peacemaking in International.
17 Crocker, Taming Intractable Conflicts, 158.
18 Arendt, On violence.
19 Milton-Edwards and Farrell, Hamas; Abu Amr, “Hamas: A Historical”; Mishal and Sela, The Palestinian Hamas; Chehab, Hamas: The Untold Story; Cardici, Hamas from Resistance.
20 Milton-Edwards, Islamic Politics; Usher, “The Democratic Resistance”; Baconi, “The Demise of Oslo.”
21 Levitt, Hamas: Politics; Schanzer, Hamas Versus Fatah.
22 Wagemakers, “Legitimizing Pragmatism”; Al-Shaer, “Islam in the Narrative.”
23 Qaradawi, Fiqh al-Jihad.
24 Tamimi, Hamas: A History, 150–1.
25 Milton-Edwards, “Hamas and the Arab.”
26 Meshal, Interview.
27 By hudna here we are referring to the classical Islamic term of a long-term truce between Muslims and their enemies. The enemy here can be both internal (a fellow Muslim) or external. In the period beginning in 628 CE the Prophet Mohammad called for a 10-year ceasefire, known as the Truce of Hudaybieh, with his enemies from the Quraysh tribe. During the hudna the two sides were to live in peace.
28 Hamas, Covenant, Article 15.
29 Peters, Jihad in Classical.
30 Milton-Edwards, Islamic Politics.
31 Jurisprudence.
32 Malik, “Jihad and its Development.”
33 Yassin, “Interviews”; Tamimi, Hamas: A History, 158.
34 EI, “Full texts of the Palestinian.”
35 Yassin, “Interviews,” 153.
36 Tamimi, Hamas: A History, 156–9.
37 Milton-Edwards and Farrell, Hamas.
38 Eiland, “The IDF in the Second”; Shikaki, “Palestinians Divided.”
39 Holt, “Qalāwūn’s Treaty”; Holt, “The Treaties”; Hroub, HAMAS, 55.
40 Pape, Dying to Win.
41 Tamimi, Hamas: A History, 165.
42 Zahar, Author Interview.
43 New York Times, “Words.”
44 Gunning, Hamas in Politics, 222–3.
45 Hroub, HAMAS, 55.
46 Rantissi, Author Interview.
47 Abu Shanab, Author Interview.
48 Hatina, “Hamas and the Oslo,” 37.
49 Ganor, “Countering Hamas.”
50 Milton-Edwards and Crooke, “Elusive Ingredient.”
51 PSR, “Opinion Poll.”
52 Meshal, “Interview.”
53 Milton-Edwards and Farrell, Hamas.
54 Milton-Edwards, “Prepared for Power.”
55 Meshal, “We will not Sell”; Butcher, “Hamas Offers Deal.”
56 In August 2006 Hamas ended its tahdiyah with Israel following the kidnap of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was held in captivity until released in October 2011 after negotiation with Israel in an exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners.
57 Milton-Edwards and Farrell, Hamas; Rose, “Gaza Bombshell.”
58 Said Siam was assassinated by Israel in Gaza on 15 January 2009 during Operation Cast Lead.
59 Zahar, Author Interview.
60 al-Masri, Author Interview.
61 Thrall, “Hamas’s Chances.”
62 Walles, “Gaza: More food.”
63 Hamad, Author Interview.
64 Yousef, Author Interview.
65 OCHA, “Humanitarian.”
66 Abu Amer, “Tahdiyah,” 1.
67 Wagemakers, “Legitimizing Pragmatism,” 372.
68 Meshal, “Hamas Truce”.
69 Mahieu, “When Should Mediators.”
70 Crocker, Taming Intractable Conflicts, 10.
71 Hamdan, Author Interview.
72 OCHA, “The Gaza Strip.”
73 Touval, “Ethical Dilemmas”; Mahieu, “When Should Mediators.”
74 Sharkov, “86.5% of Israelis.”
75 Roy, Hamas and Civil, 229.
76 Judis, “Ending the Israeli.”
77 Abu Toameh, “How Arab Rivalries.”
78 Kanwisher et al., “Reigniting Violence.”
79 Crooke and Milton-Edwards, “Costly Choice.”
80 Savir, “Israel, Hamas Negotiate.”
81 Baskin, “Israeli Negotiator”; B’tselem, “Human Rights Violations.”
82 Barakat, “Qatari Mediation.”
83 Abu Obeidah, “Izz-a-din al-Qassam.”
84 ICG, “Crisis Group.”
85 Bouris, “The Vicious Cycle.”
86 Radwan, Author Interview.
87 Catignani, “Variation.”