MB Civic

Baskin Op-Ed in the New York Times ..

I believe that Israel made a grave and irresponsible strategic error by deciding to kill [Hamas military leader] Mr. Jabari .. Israel has used targeted killings, ground invasions, drones, F-16s, economic siege and political boycott. The only thing it has not tried and tested is reaching an agreement (through third parties) for a long-term mutual cease-fire .. There was a chance for a mutually agreed cease-fire. The difference between the proposal I drafted in cooperation with my Hamas counterpart and past proposals was that it included both a mechanism for dealing with impending terror threats and a clear definition of breaches .. The proposal was at least worth testing .. Instead, Mr. Jabari is dead — and with him died the possibility of a long-term cease-fire. Israel may have also compromised the ability of Egyptian intelligence officials to mediate a short-term cease-fire and placed Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt at risk. This was not inevitable, and cooler heads could have prevailed. Mr. Jabari’s assassination removes one of the more practical actors on the Hamas side. Who will replace him? I am not convinced that Israel’s political and military leaders have adequately answered that question

the writer is a columnist for The Jerusalem Post and back channel negotiator between Hamas and Israel – mab .. read more