by Yonatan Silverman
The PA is essentially hoisting itself on its own petard. And this is the fate of those whose outlook is clouded by hubris.
The word hubris derives from the Greek and, among other things, means exaggerated self confidence. It also means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power. In the Greek tradition it often resulted in fatal retribution or Nemesis, ancient Greek for "ruin, folly, delusion.” The action performed by the hero or heroine, usually because of his or her hubris, or great pride, ultimately leads to his or her death or downfall.
The Palestinian Authority's tradition of political attitudes about Israel is indelibly marked with hubris. If some classic Greek dramatist wrote a tragedy out of this tradition, it would surely conclude with their defeat and humiliation on account of the grievous sin of hubris. The literary and even the realpolitik tradition features numerous parallels.
The most recent example of this hubris is the objective of Mahmoud Abbas to include the Islamic terror gang Hamas in the ranks of the Palestinian Authority.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev, recently said: “Hamas, is totally opposed to peace and reconciliation, believes that the Jewish state should be obliterated, and that terrorism against civilians is justified… Hamas is not a political organization that uses terrorism, Hamas is to its very core a genocidal terrorist organization."
This characterization of Hamas is totally opposed to the founding principles of the Palestinian Authority which are engraved in the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Among other things, the accords called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria, and affirmed the Arab right of self-government within those areas through the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Major issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, Israeli settlements, and security and borders were to be decided at permanent status negotiations.
Along with the principles, the two groups signed Letters of Mutual Recognition - the Israeli government recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian Arabs, while the PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist and renounced terrorism as well as other violence, and its desire for the destruction of the Israeli state.
The aim of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations was to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, an elected Council, for the Palestinian Arabs in parts of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent settlement based on United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, and 338, an integral part of the whole peace process. The two sides viewed both areas as a single territorial unit.
In order that the Palestinians govern themselves according to democratic principles, free and general political elections would be held for the Council.
The five-year transitional period would commence with Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho area. Permanent status negotiations would begin as soon as possible between Israel and the Palestinians. The negotiations would cover remaining issues, including: Jerusalem, refugees, Israeli "settlements", security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbors, and other issues of common interest.
In fact, during the course of the negotiations with Israel, the Palestinian delegation requested that a "side letter" be attached to the agreement, the text of which would be agreed upon, whereby Israel would commit to restricting "settlement" construction in area C during the process of implementation of the agreement and the ensuing negotiations.
Several drafts of this "side letter" passed between the negotiating teams until Israel indeed agreed to a formulation restricting construction activities on the basis of a government decision that would be adopted for that purpose. Ultimately, the Palestinian leadership withdrew its request for a side letter.
The Hamas Charter on the other hand states explicitly
“Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.
“Peace initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad: "Allah is the all-powerful."
“There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. The initiatives, proposals and International Conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.”
With such statements in their founding document, the Hamas leadership must be bending over backwards or just engaging in vile hypocrisy when they consider Abbas’s offer to join the Palestinian Authority now.
And Abbas’s offer does not only include Hamas. His idea is to achieve "unit" with other Palestinian Islamic terrorist organizations under the Palestinian Authority umbrella – including Islamic Jihad.
Since its founding 24 years ago Hamas has refused to acknowledge the Palestinian Authority as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians. What changed their minds? The plain truth is nothing changed their minds. Hamas, as Mark Regev stressed, is a genocidal terrorist gang to its core.
Abbas told the leaders of the Palestinian factions that while continuing the attempt to gain full membership in the UN, he wished to resume negotiations with Israel if it freezes construction and accepts the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.
Now who is bending over backwards and engaging in vile hypocrisy? Abbas’s claim of interest in bilateral negotiations with Israel is written in sand and contradicts all of the Palestinian Authority’s actions.
Mark Regev, Netanyahu’s spokesman also said 'If Abbas embraces Hamas, he is walking away from peace.'
The Palestinian Authority isn’t just walking away from peace if the organization integrates Hamas as a partner in its mission. It is walking away from itself and worse.
The 1993 Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority as the recognized representative for negotiating a viable settlement of outstanding political issues with the State of Israel.
Hamas was a renegade anti-Israel Islamic terrorist organization in 1993, and was the leader in suicide bombings during the tragic Second Intifada which caused the deaths of over 1000 innocent Israeli civilians. Killing Israelis and killing Israel is the Hamas raison d’etre. It is the objective inscribed in the Hamas Charter.
Bilateral negotiations for a political settlement with Israel is the raison d’etre of the Oslo Accords that created the PA. But now that the PA seeks to integrate Hamas in its ranks it is swallowing a poison pill. The PA move for UN recognition is just an excuse for stabbing Israel in the back and will achieve nothing.
In the final analysis, the UN statehood gambit will gain the Palestinians nothing but a state of mind. A state that exists only inside the walls of the UN.
Integrating Hamas into the PA, however, is an act of suicide. The PA is essentially hoisting itself on its own petard. And this is the fate of figures whose outlook is clouded by hubris.
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11040#.TvdtQ1ZvIi5
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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