Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Goldstone repercussions

PA Pres. Abbas is in deep trouble with his people, because he agreed to a US request to defer action on the Goldstone Report in the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva until March 2010. The reaction from Palestinians in general as well as many in his own Fatah movement, not to mention the Hamas terrorist organization that controls Gaza, to allowing Israel "off the hook" as it were, was very negative and intense.
So now, Abbas is backtracking and calling for an immediate special meeting of the UNHRC in order to refer the Report to both the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court in the Hague for judicial follow up. Concurrently Libya has also asked the UNSC to consider the Report in order to decide what measures to take. Unless the US decides to veto this initiative, there might be sanctions voted against Israel.
Now how can you expect Israel to carry on peace negotiations with an partner such as the PA that is at the same time trying to get it pillioried before world opinion? The Israel Government made it clear to both the US and PA that it will not continue with the farce of negotiations as usual while being stabbed in the back by Abbas. At the same time that Israel is trying to support Abbas as the supposed moderate leader of the Palestinians, he is showing no moderation in attacking Israel. His main excuse could be that this is what his people want, and clearly public opinion among the Palestinian people does not favor making peace with Israel.
Maybe this is why Pres Obama is still waiting to make any progress on peace in the Middle East, even though he received the Nobel Prize for it prematurely. Israel was not prepared to be the "sucker" and make an important concession, freezing building on the West Bank, without some sign of compromise from the other side, and the PA is not prepared to compromise at all. Neither were the Arab States that Obama approached prepared to make any move towards easing the situation with Israel.
This situation has also caused Hamas to defer the expected meeting in Cairo to agree on a joint program with Fatah for possible new elections in the PA. So not only has Goldstone played havoc with Israel's good name in the world but he has also made the cause of peace much more difficult to achieve. While they are expecting to make short-term political gains from the Goldstone Report, the Arabs are giving up any chance of making peace with an Israeli Government that is willing to compromise with them.

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