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Reasonable Responses, Part 2

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Well, if you have been following the news lately, you probably already know that Hamas launched yet another wave of bombings in Jerusalem. This time three bombers, apparently disguised to fit into the crowd, set off three separate explosives along a crowded pedestrian mall (Ben Yehuda Street) killing 7 and wounding over 190. In the context of my previous article on negotiation strategy, Hamas was definitely taking the riskiest of power bargaining strategies.

By bombing Israel, Hamas runs the risk of a major crackdown on their factions but the basic Israeli response of closing down the territories actually plays into the hands of Hamas and other extremist groups. Their ranks swell at the discontent and misery caused by the closure of the territories. Palestinians were unhappy that the Israelis closed the territories following the bombings in Machene Yehuda and limited Palestinian access to funds set up to facilitate improvements in the Palestinian controlled areas.

While Chairman Arafat was quick to send condolences to the families of the dead and injured as well as call for an end to the violence, many in Israel think that Arafat has not done nearly enough to stop the violence. Prime Minister Netenyahu did not have kind words of Arafat following the bombings, accusing Arafat of playing into the hands of terrorists by operating a revolving door jailing system of terrorists and of cozying up to the leaders of Hamas and other known terrorist groups. Netenyahu argued that Arafat is at least tacitly supporting the efforts of these groups against Israel and that he should be held responsible for the acts of Hamas.

For Netenyahu, this latest bombing only continues to degrade his claims to Israeli voters during his campaign that he would give Israel "peace with security". So far, Netenyahu has done neither. He has not been able to reach a more comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians or Syria and the series of bombings have shaken the confidence of many Israelis in the efforts of Likud to stem the bombings through force as each round of violence steps up the cycle of violence and terror.

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