The Santos Republic

A CEASEFIRE WILL ONLY EMBOLDEN TERRORISTS AND PREVENT THE EMERGENCE OF A DEMOCRATIC MIDDLE EAST  Recent widespread calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, coming from many world leaders, international organizations, and the media, make it imperative to examine whether the Obama administration should support them and lend its support to the negotiation of a truce. In order to do this, we need to examine the nature of non-state actors, such as Hamas, as well as the meaning of Jihad, the holy war they openly wage.  

An advantage of non-state actors is their lack of a population or territory which can be targeted. This prevents states from effectively deterring them and is the main reason why a nuclear device in their hands would be much more worrisome than one in the possession of a state, however hostile. 
 
By gaining control of the Gaza strip, Hamas has effectively ceased to be a non-state actor, having in actual practice joined the ranks of hostile states, no matter what their precise legal status in international law or diplomatic practice.  From a military point of view, this has some advantages and some disadvantages. Hamas has, on the one hand access, to more resources than it did before and more freedom of movement within its area of operations.  On the other hand, it now has a population which can be targeted and which can end up turning against them. However, this is only a weakness if Hamas is treated as a state actor by Israel and her allies. 
 
Should Hamas be allowed to escape the consequences of being responsible for the population of the Gaza strip, it would be able to reap the advantages of statehood without the pitfalls. Any such double standard would only give it a great military advantage and lengthen the conflict indecisively.  In MacArthur’s words, “In war there is no substitute for victory”.  

In addition, we should not forget that Hamas rejects concepts such as “ceasefire”, common in contemporary international law, relying instead on terms belonging to the Islamic law on Jihad. While some secular Arabic newspapers may use the term waqf al-nar, a literal translation of ceasefire, Hamas sees any temporary cessation of hostilities, to which they refer as hudna or tahdiyya, as simply an opportunity to re-arm and prepare for the next fight, the only possible outcome of Jihad being victory over the unbelievers.

It is therefore imperative to reject any calls for an early truce and to avoid any form of aid reaching the civilian population. Gaza’s inhabitants must confront the consequences of being ruled by Hamas and must reject it themselves.  Any other solution will be only a short-term one, resulting in a resumption of hostilities once Hamas has had the time to reorganize and rearm and has been able to portray such activity as a victory.  

Can anyone imagine food being shipped to World War II-era Japan before it realized further resistance was futile and decided to surrender? The seeds of modern-day democratic Japan were sown that day, in the same way that a future democratic Middle East will be born the day the so-called Palestinians realize that they have lost, that they have no hope of military victory, and that the Free World will never surrender.  

Any ceasefires, truces, or deployment of blue helmets would only serve to delay the arrival of such moment and therefore must be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, we should never forget that many dictatorial regimes in the Middle East hide behind Hamas and other terrorist organizations that threaten Israel’s national security.  Once they have been defeated, a major step will have been taken towards their replacement by democracies, the only sure way to finally achieve peace in the region.

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A law graduate of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, Alex spent some time travelling in Asia before embarking on a career in banking. His duties gradually shifted to international law, while his strong interest in international relations made him spend an increasing amount of time studying the subject and following current events. Three years ago, he finally decided to start working for himself as legal consultant an embark on a PhD in strategic studies. A professor at European University’s Barcelona campus, he is spending a semester at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), and holds a commission as reserve officer.

Alex’s main area of interest is Asia, including Central, South, and East-Asia. He is also a keen student of military history and doctrine, with an emphasis on counter-insurgency operations.

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