The ceasefire in Hamas-controlled Gaza is a ray of hope for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza who desperately need a return to some normality and an ending of the Israeli blockade. But it is also a very significant breakthrough that Israel has agreed to talk to Hamas, instead of ignoring them as radical Islamic pariahs.
It has been very foolish for Israel to fall into the trap of following the American view that lumps Hamas with Hezbollah and the Iranians into some kind of an imagined radical Islamic network that is about to take over the Middle East.
Hamas is a Sunni movement which is part of the Palestinian struggle, making it very different in ethos and intent from Hezbollah, which is Lebanese and Shiite.
Hamas is a political and military organisation with a coherent structure and internal discipline that is able to deliver on what it says. It also refuses to accept the Palestinian peace treaty with Israel.
And as part of its military tactics, it uses arms and missiles in its struggle against Israeli occupation, which is what has tipped the Bush administration into classifying it as a "terrorist organisation".
But Hamas has frequently shown that it is far more substantial than a radical "terrorist" organisation. It has won a Palestinian general election, and formed a Palestinian government.
This discomfited the previous Fatah government, forcing it out of office and inconveniencing many of its officials who had got used to the trappings of power. They too formed a part of a backlash against Hamas.
Peace talks
Hamas has also delivered a previous ceasefire which lasted for more than a year. It led to more substantial peace talks until several Israeli bombing raids and assassinations of Hamas and other Palestinian leaders ended the ceasefire.
Despite its tough political stance, Hamas has said that it is ready for peace. In 2007, Khalid Mesha'al, the hardline Hamas leader in Damascus, accepted the existence of the state of Israel but added that Hamas would not officially recognise it until the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
Mesha'al spoke to Reuters and spelled out clearly that Hamas does not seek the destruction of Israel, as is still written in its charter. He said that Israel is a "reality" and "there will remain a state called Israel - this is a matter of fact".
He added: "The problem is not that there is an entity called Israel. The problem is that the Palestinian state is non-existent." Along with many Arab states including the Gulf states, Hamas is ready for peace but insists that it should be a complete peace made at one time.
The major question is how will this week's ceasefire work? The agreement is a series of steps, linking lack of military action to dropping the blockade. The ceasefire starts today, and within 24 hours Israel is to ease restrictions on border crossings.
After five days, Israel is to open the commercial crossings, and after two weeks, Egypt will start talks with all sides to seek the reopening of the Rafah crossing.
During this long drawn out process, there will be plenty of opportunity for deliberate or mischievous actions to derail the process. One solo operator with a rocket launcher, or one Israeli fighter jet, could easily put the whole process back to zero.
The leaders need to be committed to making it work and on both sides, they have to be ready to resist attempts to make the ceasefire fail.
Israel will have to change its political stance on Hamas. For years, the senior government officials have been happy to follow the Americans and classify Hamas as a dangerous radical organisation, which espouses terror as a tool of war and have refused to deal with them.
This has suited the Israelis since it has allowed them to build up Hamas as an alternative to Fatah. When Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007, the Israelis got the fantastic result of a split Palestinian leadership which meant that any substantial peace talks became impossible.
Fatah still runs the West Bank and it has not helped its cause. Of course, it is dealing with the terrible situation of occupation but even within its own areas of delivery it has not inspired the Palestinian people.
Allegations of corruption continue to be made, proliferation of security forces remains a problem, and on a wider political field, they show a serious lack of direction.
The prime duty of any government of Palestine is to strive for the just peace that so many want, but another duty is to seek to deliver good government, and that is where the present government is lacking.
It now has yet another chance to take things forward. Fatah and Hamas need to coordinate on how they can both work to bolster the ceasefire, and in the short term ease the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza.
In the longer term it remains to be seen what the two parties will do about re-uniting Palestine, as should undoubtedly happen, and how the Israelis will respond to the strengthening of the Palestinian political body.
The ceasefire is good news, but it is only one step back to a normality from which serious peace talks might be able to start.
Send us your comments
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Gulf News may edit comments for length and clarity but will not change the tone of the message. Comments will only be accepted if all fields (including name) are filled correctly and the message isn't abusive, defamatory or offensive. The Gulf News website will only print your first name along with your comment. Please state in the message if you wish to remain anonymous. All comments sent may be forwarded for use in the Gulf News newspaper.
