Hudna
Encyclopedia
Hudna is an Arabic
term meaning a temporary "truce" or "armistice
" as well as "calm" or "quiet", coming from a verbal root meaning "calm". It is sometimes translated as "cease-fire". In the Lisan al-Arab (Ibn al-Manzur's definitive dictionary
of classical Arabic
, dating to the 14th century) it is defined as follows:
A particularly famous early hudna was the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
between Muhammad
and the Quraysh tribe.
According to Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik
, a medieval summary of Shafi'i
jurisprudence
, hudnas with a non-Muslim enemy should be limited to 10 years: "if Muslims are weak, a truce may be made for ten years if necessary, for the Prophet made a truce with the Quraysh for that long, as is related by Abu Dawud" ('Umdat as-Salik, o9.16).
, particularly one that would involve organizations such as Hamas
. The concept of hudna was introduced to the conflict by the Israeli businessman Eyal Erlich in 2001, after seeing a hudna being declared in order to calm a feud
in Jordan
(cf. Haaretz
, January 2, 2002); he and some others proposed, unsuccessfully, that Israel should suggest a mutual hudna as a prelude to a more lasting peace.
Despite the Israeli government's rejection of the idea, in summer 2003 — following pressure from Abu Mazen and Egypt
— Hamas
and Islamic Jihad
unilaterally declared a 45-day ceasefire, or hudna. Its proponents commonly argued that such a cease-fire would allow hostility to die down and make a full reconciliation possible; its opponents commonly argued that it would be a mere tactical maneuver enabling Palestinian groups to re-group and muster their strength in preparation for further attacks on Israelis, or Israel to continue expanding settlements, blockading Palestinian towns, and arresting members of such groupshttp://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/651/re1.htm. The hudna started in late June 2003.
In an IDF operation to arrest Hamas bomb-makers gunfight broke out in which an Israeli soldier and two alleged Hamas militants were killed. Hamas responded with a suicide bombing on August 12, killing one Israeli civilian. Fatah claimed responsibility for a second suicide bombing on August 12 killing another Israeli citizen. Despite this de facto violation of the hudna, Hamas stated that the cease-fire would continue. Hostilities then escalated: the Israeli army killed Islamic Jihad
's Muhammad Seeder on August 14; the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre
by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on August 19, killed 23 and wounded 136 people ; and Israeli forces killed Hamas's Isma'il Abu-Shanab on August 21. After the killing of the two high-ranking leaders, Hamas eventually called off the hudnahttp://www.counterpunch.org/avnery08252003.html.
In January 2004, senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
offered a 10-year hudna in return for complete withdrawal from all territories captured in the Six Day War, the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and the unlimited "right of return" for all Palestnian refugees into Israel. Rantissi said the hudna was limited to ten years and represented a decision by the movement because it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage; the hudna would however not signal a recognition of the state of Israel."However, Hamas later repudiated this offer and claimed they would never recognize Israel or compromise on their position that Israel needed to be dismantled and replaced by a single Palestinian state. The Hamas hudna offers are non-starters with Israel because they demand that Israel cede all of Eastern Jerusalem and accede to the right of return, two elements that have never been accepted by any Israeli governing coalition (whether it was led by liberals or conservatives). Additionally, in both the 2004 case and other instances, Hamas has been in favor of hudnas when speaking to Western audiences (such as a 2006 op-ed piece by Ahmed Youssef in the New York Times) and violently opposed to them when communicating with Arab and Muslim audiences (such as Youssef later stating that the "5-year hudna" from his op-ed was a European proposal that Hamas had rejected).
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
term meaning a temporary "truce" or "armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
" as well as "calm" or "quiet", coming from a verbal root meaning "calm". It is sometimes translated as "cease-fire". In the Lisan al-Arab (Ibn al-Manzur's definitive dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
of classical Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, dating to the 14th century) it is defined as follows:
- "hadana: he grew quiet. hadina: he quieted (transitive or intransitive). haadana: he made peace with. The noun from each of these is hudna."
A particularly famous early hudna was the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is the treaty that took place between the state of Medina and the Quraishi tribe of Mecca in March 628CE .-Background:...
between Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
and the Quraysh tribe.
According to Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik
Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik
Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik is a classical manual of fiqh for the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence...
, a medieval summary of Shafi'i
Shafi'i
The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, hudnas with a non-Muslim enemy should be limited to 10 years: "if Muslims are weak, a truce may be made for ten years if necessary, for the Prophet made a truce with the Quraysh for that long, as is related by Abu Dawud" ('Umdat as-Salik, o9.16).
Hudna in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
In English, the term is most frequently used in reference to a cease-fire agreement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, particularly one that would involve organizations such as Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. The concept of hudna was introduced to the conflict by the Israeli businessman Eyal Erlich in 2001, after seeing a hudna being declared in order to calm a feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
(cf. Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, January 2, 2002); he and some others proposed, unsuccessfully, that Israel should suggest a mutual hudna as a prelude to a more lasting peace.
Despite the Israeli government's rejection of the idea, in summer 2003 — following pressure from Abu Mazen and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
— Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...
unilaterally declared a 45-day ceasefire, or hudna. Its proponents commonly argued that such a cease-fire would allow hostility to die down and make a full reconciliation possible; its opponents commonly argued that it would be a mere tactical maneuver enabling Palestinian groups to re-group and muster their strength in preparation for further attacks on Israelis, or Israel to continue expanding settlements, blockading Palestinian towns, and arresting members of such groupshttp://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/651/re1.htm. The hudna started in late June 2003.
In an IDF operation to arrest Hamas bomb-makers gunfight broke out in which an Israeli soldier and two alleged Hamas militants were killed. Hamas responded with a suicide bombing on August 12, killing one Israeli civilian. Fatah claimed responsibility for a second suicide bombing on August 12 killing another Israeli citizen. Despite this de facto violation of the hudna, Hamas stated that the cease-fire would continue. Hostilities then escalated: the Israeli army killed Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...
's Muhammad Seeder on August 14; the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre
Jerusalem bus 2 massacre
The Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing was the suicide bombing of a crowded public bus in the Shmuel HaNavi quarter in Jerusalem, Israel, on August 19, 2003. Twenty-three people were killed and over 130 wounded. Many of the victims were children...
by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on August 19, killed 23 and wounded 136 people ; and Israeli forces killed Hamas's Isma'il Abu-Shanab on August 21. After the killing of the two high-ranking leaders, Hamas eventually called off the hudnahttp://www.counterpunch.org/avnery08252003.html.
In January 2004, senior Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
Dr. Abdel Aziz Ali Abdulmajid al-Rantissi ; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004) was the co-founder of the militant Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin....
offered a 10-year hudna in return for complete withdrawal from all territories captured in the Six Day War, the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and the unlimited "right of return" for all Palestnian refugees into Israel. Rantissi said the hudna was limited to ten years and represented a decision by the movement because it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage; the hudna would however not signal a recognition of the state of Israel."However, Hamas later repudiated this offer and claimed they would never recognize Israel or compromise on their position that Israel needed to be dismantled and replaced by a single Palestinian state. The Hamas hudna offers are non-starters with Israel because they demand that Israel cede all of Eastern Jerusalem and accede to the right of return, two elements that have never been accepted by any Israeli governing coalition (whether it was led by liberals or conservatives). Additionally, in both the 2004 case and other instances, Hamas has been in favor of hudnas when speaking to Western audiences (such as a 2006 op-ed piece by Ahmed Youssef in the New York Times) and violently opposed to them when communicating with Arab and Muslim audiences (such as Youssef later stating that the "5-year hudna" from his op-ed was a European proposal that Hamas had rejected).
See also
- SulhSulhSulh is an Arabic word which means "peace" as opposed to war. It is derived from the same root as Arabic word musalaha meaning reconciliation.-Usage:...
- Al-Aqsa IntifadaAl-Aqsa IntifadaThe Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
- HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
- History of Islam
- List of Islamic terms in Arabic
- MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
- TahdiaTahdiaTahdiya is Arabic for "calming" or "quieting".The term has been applied to a temporary lull between the Israeli forces and the Palestinian Hamas, beginning early in 2004 following the non successful discussions to sign a Hudna, or temporary armistice...
- The Israeli-Palestinian conflictIsraeli-Palestinian conflictThe Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...