Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Direct negotiations?

Between the Madrid Conference of 1990 and the election of Netanyahu as Israeli PM in 2008 there were direct negotiations between the then current Palestinian leader and the current Israeli PM. For the past two years, Pres. Abbas of the PA has refused to renew direct negotiations, but instead has erected a series of unacceptable preconditions to the restart of direct negotiations. Once Pres. Obama pressured Netanyahu to make a West Bank building freeze a precondition to the renewal of direct talks, there was no reason for Abbas to renew talks without this precondition. But, Netanyahu wisely placed a time limit on this building moratorium, namely 10 months, and it is due to run out on Sept. 26. If Netanyahu had not done this, and had not repeated that the moratorium will end on that date, his governing coalition might well have fallen apart and his credibility would be shot. But, this precondition proved not to be enough, Abbas made other preconditions, such as a prior agreement by Israel that the pre-June 1967 ceasefire lines, without alteration, should be the borders of the putative Palestinian State. Also, Israel had to accept the "right of return" of the (millions) of descendents of the original Palestinian refugees. So if all these major issues were accepted in advance by Israel, why bother to have negotiations at all? It would be in effect as if under Pres. Obama the PA was allowed to dictate the final terms in advance.

Now it appears after much pressure by the US, directly thru Sen MItchell, and by the Quartet, consisting of the US, EU, Russia and the UN, that Abbas is finally preparing to accept direct talks. But, he will not give up his preconditions. How to satisfy both sides? The Quartet is likely to endorse an EU statement that calls on Israel to stop all building in the West Bank and to establish a Palestinian State with contiguous borders, and possibly to divide Jerusalem, giving E. Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State. But, these will be guidelines only, non-binding wishes of the Quartet, providing a fig leaf for Abbas to indulge in direct talks. The PA spokesman, Saeb Erekat, has made it clear that if Israel does not accept the building moratorium as a precondition then it will be Netanyahu's fault if the talks do not proceed. This is their way of carrying out "hard ball" negotiations in advance of any actual talks. Netanyahu's Government will likely reject all these preconditions, but nevertheless is ready to engage Abbas in direct talks. By continuing to build only in those areas where there is dense Jewish settlement, which will be retained by Israel, this may partially satisfy the needs of Abbas.

It is clear that the Quartet and its components, the US and EU particularly, have adopted a specifically pro-Palestinian position, giving up their support for the democratic and pro-western State of Israel. This is not only a historic rejection of the Jewish State, but smacks of hypocrisy. While fighting terrorism elsewhere, in Afghanistan and around the world, the western powers are happily undermining Israel in order to curry favor with the Muslim world. Israel should not allow their self-defeating and appeasing policies to influence its own decisions, that must be based on what are the best interests of the Jewish State.

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