Middle East mix
The "direct peace talks" are due to start tomorrow in Washington, following suitable dinners and occasions. Will these talks change history or merely be another in a long series of formal arrangements that end in stalemate and take us no further ahead? Israel has engaged in such talks with commitment and enthusiasm before, but at every step advance has been thwarted.
After the Madrid Conference of 1990, when the ice was broken betwen the Jewish and Arab sides, there were hopes for progress. But now we are 20 years later, and very little has changed. It's true that there are no longer fears of attack by the Arab countries themselves, but in place of that we have the Iranian axis, Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas. We do have peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but at every turn they do everything they can to undermine and delegitimize Israel. Thru the Oslo Accords and the Camp David negotiations successive Israeli PMs tried to entice Arafat into making an agreement, but to no avail. At Camp David he simply left without responding to the Israeli offer and at Taba he refused everything. PM Olmert, whatever one may think of him, tried hard to establish a working relationship with Arafat's successor, Pres. Abbas, and also promised him much, unavailingly. Even the "Road Map to Peace" failed to provide the necessary directions. PM Sharon's idea of unilateral Israeli withdrawals, i.e. if they won't agree with us we'll do it ourself, has foundered on the reality of 8 years of rocket fire from Gaza.
PM Netanyahu's Government has accepted the idea of "partition" of the land between Jews and Arabs, he has acknowledged that only a Palestinain State can satisfy the ambitions of the Arabs. But, this must be accomplished without surrendering Israeli security. So any such State must be demilitarized, and there must be mutual recognition, including Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish State, and there must finally be an "end of conflict" agreement. The Palestinian leadership have shown no interest in dealing with these crucial issues, preferring to dwell on "settlements" and "refugees." Both sides must make compromises in their maximal postions, but there is no hint of this happening from the Arab side. Perhaps Abbas is too weak to compromise on anything.
At every meeting such as this, held by every US President in turn, in Madrid, Oslo, Camp David, Annapolis and so on, maybe there are little steps ahead that are not obviously visible at the time. But, can we afford to wait for this glacial progress. Don't the Arabs realize that with time, unless they come to terms with Israel, their little Palestinian cake is being legitimately nibbled away, and if they wait too long there won't be even a slice left for them.
Of course, Hamas, that violently opposes these talks, has no role to play in them, except as spoiler. They did this last night by attacking a car near Kiryat Arba and killing four Israelis in cold blood. Nevertheless, despite this tragic murder, the talks will go on, but parallel to them the IDF must exact its price on Hamas for its murderous terrorism. Fortunately, the PA issued a statement opposing such attacks, and so they won't have an excuse to call off the talks when Israel responds against Hamas. So this is the mix as usual in the Middle East, peace talks and terrorism.
After the Madrid Conference of 1990, when the ice was broken betwen the Jewish and Arab sides, there were hopes for progress. But now we are 20 years later, and very little has changed. It's true that there are no longer fears of attack by the Arab countries themselves, but in place of that we have the Iranian axis, Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas. We do have peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but at every turn they do everything they can to undermine and delegitimize Israel. Thru the Oslo Accords and the Camp David negotiations successive Israeli PMs tried to entice Arafat into making an agreement, but to no avail. At Camp David he simply left without responding to the Israeli offer and at Taba he refused everything. PM Olmert, whatever one may think of him, tried hard to establish a working relationship with Arafat's successor, Pres. Abbas, and also promised him much, unavailingly. Even the "Road Map to Peace" failed to provide the necessary directions. PM Sharon's idea of unilateral Israeli withdrawals, i.e. if they won't agree with us we'll do it ourself, has foundered on the reality of 8 years of rocket fire from Gaza.
PM Netanyahu's Government has accepted the idea of "partition" of the land between Jews and Arabs, he has acknowledged that only a Palestinain State can satisfy the ambitions of the Arabs. But, this must be accomplished without surrendering Israeli security. So any such State must be demilitarized, and there must be mutual recognition, including Arab recognition of Israel as the Jewish State, and there must finally be an "end of conflict" agreement. The Palestinian leadership have shown no interest in dealing with these crucial issues, preferring to dwell on "settlements" and "refugees." Both sides must make compromises in their maximal postions, but there is no hint of this happening from the Arab side. Perhaps Abbas is too weak to compromise on anything.
At every meeting such as this, held by every US President in turn, in Madrid, Oslo, Camp David, Annapolis and so on, maybe there are little steps ahead that are not obviously visible at the time. But, can we afford to wait for this glacial progress. Don't the Arabs realize that with time, unless they come to terms with Israel, their little Palestinian cake is being legitimately nibbled away, and if they wait too long there won't be even a slice left for them.
Of course, Hamas, that violently opposes these talks, has no role to play in them, except as spoiler. They did this last night by attacking a car near Kiryat Arba and killing four Israelis in cold blood. Nevertheless, despite this tragic murder, the talks will go on, but parallel to them the IDF must exact its price on Hamas for its murderous terrorism. Fortunately, the PA issued a statement opposing such attacks, and so they won't have an excuse to call off the talks when Israel responds against Hamas. So this is the mix as usual in the Middle East, peace talks and terrorism.
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:43 PM
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