Hamas reportedly breaks bones of PRC terrorist who shot rockets - and that's a good thing

Last Friday, two rockets from Gaza were fired into Israel.

According to Palestine Press Agency, the Nasser Saladin Brigades of the PRC terror group announced that one of their members was arrested and beaten by Hamas on Saturday, fracturing his limbs. They said that the reason for the arrest was suspicion of shooting the rockets. (As far as I can tell, the PRC didn't take credit for the launches.)

Outside of the obvious human-rights problem that Hamas and the PA don't care about their own laws, this is actually the best possible situation in stopping terror attacks.

Both Hamas and the PA control land and have established quasi governments from which they derive their legitimacy. This is a source of pride, and pride is a huge motivating factor in the honor/shame society of the Arabs.

Therefore, it is something that must be protected at almost all costs.

Without negotiations and without fanfare, Israel makes it clear that if it is attacked, she will respond. The responses necessarily involve the hated Jews either physically coming to the areas that the attacks originated from or attacking from the air. Either way, it weakens the perceived sovereignty of the PA and Hamas over the lands that they govern, and this is a source of shame. Therefore, it must be avoided.

And if that means that these groups will stop their own citizens from attacking Israel, then that is what has to be done.

Peace can only occur if it is in the self-interests of the parties. The reason that two decades of the Oslo process have not brought a real peace is that the terms given violate the self-interests of both parties.

A detente, however, is in the interests of both parties. Over the years Israel has established just such a detente by exploiting the fact that the PA and Hamas have something to lose by not cooperating. They want to stay in power? Fine - as long as Israel is left alone, their own leadership is safe.

This is the closest thing to peace that is possible in the conflict. Thuggish methods to enforce the truce is not ideal, but it is much better than rockets landing on schools.