LETTER: History shows that cease-fires haven't worked when dealing with Hamas

To the editor:

I'm wondering what Alison Page expects from the cease-fire she calls for in her Dec. 17 letter, "Mass. delegation must push for permanent cease-fire in Gaza."

Does Page expect a cease-fire like the ones agreed to at the end of the 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021 Gaza wars, each of which enabled the terrorists to strengthen themselves and start another war? I seem to recall a permanent cease-fire was in effect on Oct. 7. That certainly didn't work out very well.

Does she want the cease-fire to include the other demands in the recent United Nations General Assembly resolution, i.e. the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages kidnapped by the Gaza terrorists and adherence to international law?

Tennis great Bill Tilden advised to stick with a winning strategy but always change a losing strategy.

The record shows that cease-fires with Hamas and the other terror groups in Gaza, which include Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah, bring short-term relief at the price of more misery, death and destruction in the long-term.

In other words, pushing for a cease-fire in Gaza is a losing strategy that needs to be changed.

Alan Stein

Natick

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Letter to editor Cease-fires with Gaza terrorists bring destruction