‘Many times, it is far more difficult to wage peace than it is to wage war.’
NEWS that Hamas and Israel have been releasing hostages and prisoners, respectively, cannot be anything but good news. That they come after over a month of bombing and fighting that has destroyed communities and killed combatants and civilians alike is the regretful part, but then perhaps no releases would have happened if the period of combat hadn’t happened first.
It’s welcome and surprising given the deep divide between Hamas and Israel (both committed to wiping each other out from the face of the earth) but there’s a precedent. It should never be forgotten that Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat joined hands with Bill Clinton in the White House in 1993, which built on the Camp David Accords signed by Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel under the guidance of US President Jimmy Carter. In these two instances, two parties that had for decade after decade after decade vowed to eliminate the other saw the value in a negotiated peace. Admittedly, the road from the agreement to reality on the ground has not been easy and there have been many instances where the various agreements could have been junked for good. Yet the framework of peace in the Middle East remains the same and progress has been achieved.
Many times, it is far more difficult to wage peace than it is to wage war.
And so, the release of hostages by Hamas and of prisoners by Israel is a very important step forward in dialing down tensions in the Middle East. To make this possible, the parties involved need to take the step of abandoning their extreme positions no matter how politically difficult; in exchange, they need to be able to report small wins to encourage the process to continue. There are domestic as there are international audiences involved and navigating between the sometimes contending interests of both is the challenge leaders face in a situation like this.
Sadat and Rabin, we can never forget, were assassinated by extremists in their countries who were not happy with the compromises they entered into.
Is there something to learn from the experience in the Middle East that we can apply to the situation the Philippines finds itself in? More partially, are there ways to dial down tensions in the South China Sea in a way where the main actors do not lose face in the eyes of their domestic audience?
That’s the challenge before BBM, and we can only hope and pray that he adeptly navigates the contrasting multi-party interests complicating the situation.
But maybe it’s time to dial down the tensions in the area and see whether all these interests can come together at some point that will leave everyone happy enough, even if not 100% satisfied.
