A deal with the Devil
A deal with the Devil in light of the norms of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
"Come on, my friend, get ready the pen,
Sign the paper to have it done!”
He touched his brow; with a heavy thud
A bottle emerged in a blink.
I asked in horror: “Is it blood?”
But answered he: “Just ink.”
(A.Galich)
(a)
An agreement on any actions by Israel in exchange for the release of hostages constitutes recognition of the legal personality (subject status) of a terrorist organization and legitimizes the taking of Israelis as hostages in the future.
If Israel agrees to anything in exchange for hostages, this means that taking Israelis hostage is profitable, and therefore they will be taken again—including abroad.
In its time, Israel did everything possible (including the Operation Entebbe, in which Yonatan Netanyahu was killed) in order not to comply with the demands of hostage-takers, and for a long period put an end to the practice of targeted hostage-taking.
Gilad Shalit was captured by chance. This was not a targeted seizure. But the Shalit deal showed that Israel’s position had changed. And the enemies decided that it was possible to continue pressing Israel in this way. If Israel continues to make concessions in exchange for hostages, new hostages will be seized—ever more and more.
The only reasonable course now is: after the return of the hostages, to declare that the deal concluded for the release of the hostages is void and does not bind Israel to anything, and, accordingly, after the hostages are released, to continue hostilities until the full capitulation of Gaza.
This is a fully lawful position, including in accordance with the rule in Article 52 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties —as reflecting a general legal principle. I wrote about this in greater detail in the article “Как следует действовать дальше” (“How We Should Proceed”) on the Channel 9 website, 2025-01-20
The formal capitulation of Gaza, with Hamas acknowledging defeat, is a path to peace, whereas receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is not a path to peace. As we recall, in 1994 the Nobel Peace Prize was already awarded with the wording “for their efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.”
(b)
What the Government of Israel does not yet understand is this: when signing any documents aimed at resolving the conflict—whether signing instruments of capitulation with enemies or agreements with partners—the first clauses should be ideological theses. Ideology legitimizes the narrative, and the narrative shapes what is perceived as the operative norm.
Our adversaries, however, understand this very well. The most cardinal error of Oslo was that the preamble to the Oslo II Agreement affirmed that there exists a “Palestinian people” and that the PLO is its representative.
And now any document aimed at achieving peace must begin with the statement and acknowledgment that the “Palestinian people” is an invention, and that the Arabs residing in Palestine do not possess a right to self-determination separate from the right of the Arab people as a whole.
In order for the text of a document to have a real effect, it is necessary to understand the other side’s frame of reference. For Arabs and for the majority of Muslims, international law is secondary to religious sources.
Therefore, any document signed with the participation of representatives of Arab or Muslim states must contain an indication that the right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel (also known as “Palestine”) derives not only from the norms of international law (which, for them, is of secondary importance), but—most importantly—from the Quran, with the corresponding citations (5:21, 17:104, and others). For only this is authoritative for them. And only the acknowledgment of this is the path to peace. Everything else is merely a pause for preparation for a new war.
You would be raising black wolves yourself
And teaching them wag the tail!
While having later to pay for that –
The payment you can delay!
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