How Will Hamas Respond to a Cease-Fire?

Not favorably, to say the least.

To know what Hamas wants, all we need to do is read its 1988 Covenant, which says that Palestine is to be Muslim until the end of time. That Covenant is a declaration of war against Jews in Palestine; its present war aims cannot be achieved through any permanent compromise with Israel.

When only total victory over the Jews will end the war, every cease-fire will only be a temporary pause in the fighting. Let’s examine key passages from the Covenant.

Article Six

The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, for under the wing of Islam followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned. In the absence of Islam, strife will be rife, oppression spreads, evil prevails and schisms and wars will break out.

Article Seven

Article Eleven

The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. [Note: a Waqf is an endowment of property in trust to be used for religious or charitable purposes.]

[…]

It happened like this: When the leaders of the Islamic armies conquered Syria and Iraq, they sent to the Caliph of the Moslems, Umar bin-el-Khatab, asking for his advice concerning the conquered land - whether they should divide it among the soldiers, or leave it for its owners, or what? After consultations and discussions between the Caliph of the Moslems, Omar bin-el-Khatab and companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, it was decided that the land should be left with its owners who could benefit by its fruit. As for the real ownership of the land and the land itself, it should be consecrated for Moslem generations till Judgement Day. Those who are on the land, are there only to benefit from its fruit. This Waqf remains as long as earth and heaven remain. Any procedure in contradiction to Islamic Sharia, where Palestine is concerned, is null and void.

Article Thirteen

Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against part of religion.

There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.

In 2017, a revised statement of their general principles and objectives was issued by leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Of great importance was its failure to abrogate the 1988 Covenant. Moreover, that later statement ratified the core religiosity of the 1988 Covenant: “27. A real state of Palestine is a state that has been liberated. There is no alternative to a fully sovereign Palestinian State on the entire national Palestinian soil, with Jerusalem as its capital.”

Conclusion

The war in Gaza was declared by Hamas in 1988, and is religiously inspired.

Its righteousness is legitimated with unyielding certainty through religious belief in a totally supportive divine providence. Because compromise is so difficult, wars fought to vindicate a religion or an ideology (which is a kind of religion) are ruthless and brutal, and unleash the worst of human moral depravity. In this sense, the war in Gaza is a zero-sum contest that will continue until one side collapses.

Stephen B. Young served in the Civil Operations and Rural Development Support (CORDS) program in South Vietnam as a deputy district advisor. He is the author of The Theory and Practice of Associative Power: CORDS in the Villages of Vietnam 1967-1972. Currently, he is the global executive director of the Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism. His most recent book is Kissinger’s Betrayal.