Wondering why Israelis are so divided?
This is a great article to read and appreciate why Israelis have very strong opposing views on a ceasefire in Gaza. It was written by the Legal Forum for Israel.
"Deal at Any Price? The Legal Forum’s Position
Since October 7th , the question of what we should do in order to get our hostages back has torn apart the State of Israel. ?As of today, after one hostage release deal, ?after bold military operations by the IDF and after the horrific massacre of six of our hostages, it is estimated that Hamas now has 101 ?hostages of which it is unknown how many are still alive. After the massacre on Oct 7th and the realization that Hamas had hundreds of hostages, two camps arouse: one, led by the leaders of the protest movement against the government together with families of hostages, and one consisting of bereaved families and different families of hostages. ?The first camp calls for a deal to be made to get our hostages back no matter the price, while the second group’s position is that a deal should not be made at any cost; that everything must be done to return the hostages but not at the cost of strengthening Hamas and allowing it the possibility of kidnapping others and murdering even more Israeli citizens.
It is impossible to truly comprehend the suffering of the parents whose children are held captive by Hamas, of brothers and sisters and children of those hostages who have been held under substandard conditions for almost a year now. It is not our place to judge any of the parties. We believe that each person faced with a similar reality would act to the best of his or her ability and understanding in order to help free their loved ones. But beyond the personal aspect, there is the national aspect and we at the Legal Forum for Israel, an organization of hundreds of lawyers and other concerned citizens who work for and promote the strengthening of the State of Israel, feel the need and responsibility to state our position. We will try to explain our approach here.
Unfortunately, there are many in Israel who present people who oppose a deal at all costs as those who not care about the lives of the hostages. This is said repeatedly by politicians, media personalities and some of the families of the hostages, as if the parents of hostages who oppose the deal do not love their children, as if people who oppose the idea of a deal at any price are heartless and do not suffer for every moment that the hostages are in captivity. What is missing from the argument, however, is a discussion of the implications of the term “at any price”.
·??? Is there no point where the price becomes too high?
·??? Is the life of one hostage equal to the life of one Israeli citizen who will be murdered in the future by a terrorist freed in a deal to release the hostages or some of our hostages?
·??? Is each hostage freed worth ten other murdered people? A hundred? Thousands, as happened with Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas who planned the massacre of Oct 7th and who was freed in the Gilad Shalit deal despite the knowledge of the danger he posed?
·??? Is it worth making a deal that will leave Hamas able to regain its strength and able to continue to torture, murder and kidnap others?
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·??? Is it worth making a deal that will encourage every terrorist in the countries surrounding Israel to try to kidnap more and more? (This happened as a result of the Gilad Shalit deal where over 1000 terrorists were freed for one soldier, demonstrating that kidnapping Israelis is the best means of applying pressure on the State of Israel. It is not a mystery why Hamas focused on kidnapping civilians in the Oct 7th massacre.)
The answers are not always clear, but what is clear is that there is no simple answer.
In addition, the side that demands a deal “at any price” always talks about the price that Israel will have to pay for each hostage, but never about the price that is acceptable to them that the other side will have to pay if the hostages are not released. We haven’t heard people from that side of the debate demand that Israel stop providing aid to Gaza until the hostages are returned. Are they prepared to demand that for every extra day that Hamas continues to hold the hostages Israel destroy one city in Gaza??Two cities? A neighborhood for each hostage? A thousand Gazans killed for each hostage not released?
A deal “at any price” is a slogan, a slogan that does not stand the test of reality. Everyone wants the return of the hostages. The only questions that need to be asked and answered are what is the maximum that a country needs and can pay in order to secure the release of its citizens in the context of an agreement and how much should the country fight and extract from the other side if it don’t release them.
During the negotiations to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, the Legal Forum warned that the release of more than one terrorist for one soldier would only lead to more attempts at and kidnappings of soldiers. The Legal Forum's warnings turned out to be in line with the recommendations of a committee that discussed the issue but whose conclusions were published only after the Shalit deal. This committee, established by the government and headed by a Supreme Court Judge, determined that Israel must not release more than a few terrorists in exchange for a hostage and that the state must do everything it can militarily to increase the pressure in order to secure the release of its hostages. This conclusion, however, had no impact on the Gilad Shalit deal, and on Oct 7th, we saw the results.
Other than the negotiators themselves, no one knows what really goes on behind the scenes at the negotiations. One thing is clear though, Hamas is not ready to give up on continuing its rule in Gaza and its ability to rearm and rebuild in order to threaten Israeli communities and murder more of our loved ones. ?We believe that the State of Israel should do everything it can militarily and exert as much pressure as necessary so that Hamas understands that it does not pay to kidnap Israeli citizens.
A deal at any price? No.
A deal that will ensure Israeli security and secure the release of all the hostages? Yes.
We, at the Legal Forum for Israel, are proud that our work is progressing, is achieving results, and will restore trust in our judicial system, so crucial for any healthy democracy."
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