Israel to Hamas: Stop the rockets, then we talk

Israel is finally refusing to fall for the usual terrorist line of a cease-fire once the terrorists are on the run. First, Ehud Olmert denied that he was considering a truce with Hamas. Now Shimon Peres told Hamas that there will be no peace talks until the rockets being fired into Israel stop completely.

On a Friday visit to the Arab-Israeli village of Kfar Kassem, President Shimon Peres said that “there will be no peace talks with the Palestinians until Qassam attacks on Israel cease.”

Referring to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, Peres said: “Once the incessant Qassam attacks stop, we might be inclined to negotiate with him.”

In keeping with the political line delineated by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Peres reiterated that “negotiations with Hamas will only take place once they meet the three conditions set by the Quartet (UN, Britain, Russia and the US): That is cessation of Qassam fire, official recognition of Israel’s right to exist, and abiding by existing peace accords.”

And here’s a line you won’t see quoted by the wire services:

Referencing the Gaza pullout, Peres noted that “there isn’t a single Israeli soldier or civilian left in Gaza, so why is there still rocket fire? It is imperative that the Qassam fire cease before all else.

The spin in the news services is curious. The AP is spinning that the Israeli side is fielding more calls for a truce, which is patently untrue:

Israeli calls for cease-fire talks with the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip grew Friday as an Israeli Cabinet minister said he supported such negotiations under certain conditions.

Here’s the minister, and here’s what he said—in the same AP story:

Israeli Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Friday that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may consider talks with Hamas on a long-term cease-fire. But, as part of such a deal, Hamas must also cease smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip and open talks for the release of an Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas-affiliated militants last year, Ben-Eliezer said.

“The prime minister I know doesn’t totally rule anything out,” Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio. “If a serious, realistic proposal is put on the table and Hamas is willing to discuss a long-term cease-fire and is willing to stop the terror, to stop the smuggling and is willing to open talks on the release of Gilad Shalit, I would go to negotiations.”

Now wait for the AP to spin it the opposite way when Hamas refuses to accede to the conditions above—which are utterly reasonable conditions for a truce. Gee. Stop the killing, and we’ll talk. Otherwise, talk to the IDF.

The spin will be that Israel doesn’t want the truce, in spite of your being able to find quotes like this buried in AP wire stories (yes, the same ones that say that Israel is seriously considering a truce):

Late Thursday, Hamas said it fired three rockets at Israel, its first such claim in weeks, putting the truce talk in doubt.

Abu Obeida of the Hamas military wing said the target of the rockets fired by Hamas was an Israeli military base. “This is a tactic of the Hamas military wing,” he said. “It has nothing (to do) with a truce or escalation.”

Up is down. Left is right. Firing rockets don’t negate the idea of a truce, they “put the truce talk in doubt.” But one thing is sure: When Hamas says they’re not interested in a truce—and they will—the news media will blame Israel for refusing to talk to Hamas. Count on it.