by Isi Leibler
As anticipated, the Obama
administration’s efforts to impose a peace settlement have proved to be a
disastrous failure. It is immaterial whether the negotiations formally
break down or a face saving “framework agreement” is adopted which is
non-binding and incorporates sufficient reservations to make it
meaningless. Regrettably, the US intervention has only exacerbated the
situation and even undermined the chances of low profile interim
progress and economic cooperation.
The peace settlements between
Israel and Egypt and Jordan were achieved because both parties sought to
come to an accommodation. The US did not then seek to impose solutions.
It only became involved as a facilitator and honest broker after both
parties had taken the initial steps and invited them.
The flawed initiatives by the
Obama administration have resulted in the standing of the US in both
Israel and the Arab world plummeting to its lowest level.
US Secretary of State John Kerry
has blustered and zigzagged between intimidating and occasionally
placating Israel. The pressure was exerted overwhelmingly towards Israel
whilst the Palestinians, who were treated with kid gloves, refused to
make a single meaningful compromise. This generated enormous frustration
and resentment of the US amongst Israelis.
The positive memories of Obama’s
visit to Israel and the ongoing defense support and co-operation – now
at an all-time high - were overshadowed by Israeli anger against the US
for bullying its government into releasing brutal mass murderers who
were subsequently glorified as heroes by the PA.
The PA demanded this as a
prerequisite to even agreeing to negotiate. An uninformed observer would
assume that Israel was the supplicant and would be unaware that the
territories were acquired only after Israel vanquished an Arab
conglomerate which had initiated a war to annihilate it.
American and European leaders
still delude themselves that the Israeli Palestinian conflict relates to
two hostile people fighting over real estate. They seem unaware that
both Arafat and Abbas rejected Israeli offers of 95% of territories over
the green line, without even making a counter offer.
By now, they should recognize
that the objective of the Palestinian leaders is not the acquisition of
land, but end of Jewish sovereignty in the region. This explains their
adamant refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The US administration ignores
the reality that the corrupt and duplicitous PA chairman, Mahmoud Abbas,
even if he desired, has no mandate to make any concession and if he
deviated, would likely be assassinated.
The persistent pressure on
Israel to make unilateral concessions without reciprocity has merely
empowered the Palestinian extremists who smugly demonstrate that
intransigence pays off.
The US policymakers also fail to
appreciate that the differences between the PA and openly genocidal
Hamas are primarily tactical. The PA believes that their strategy of
diplomacy and the dismantling of Israel in stages is a far more
effective tactic than terrorism (to which they repeatedly threaten to
revert). But both the PA and Hamas share the same goal – the elimination
of Israel.
It is now time for the Obama
Administration to accept the reality that the PA has evolved into a
criminal society. How else to define a regime which brainwashes
kindergarten age children into believing that Israel and the Jews are
evil parasites and continuously calls for the elimination of the Jewish
state? This demonization of Israel is reinforced daily by the mullahs in
the mosques and the PA controlled media. In addition, terrorists are
sanctified, treated as heroes and awarded state pensions. There are
obvious similarities between the Nazi brainwashing of the German people
and what Arafat and now Abbas have imposed on the Palestinians.
Due to Obama’s initial personal
intervention, the settlements - a mere 3 to 4% of territories over the
green line - have now become a central issue. While Israelis differ over
the role of settlements in remote areas, they are frustrated that home
constructions in Jewish suburbs of east Jerusalem and within the
settlement blocs that will remain in Israel generate infinitely greater
global condemnation than the mass slaughter in Syria.
Yet despite all the efforts and
concessions Israel has made, there are signals that the Obama
Administration will cast the blame on us for the failure of
negotiations, which we realized from the outset were doomed as a
hopeless charade. The recent histrionic US attacks against Defense
Minister Moshe Ya’alon for expressing concerns with aspects of American
foreign policy impacting on Israel testify to this.
That Israel is again being
pressured over prisoner releases is scandalous. The government was
bludgeoned by the US into releasing these mass murderers on the clear
understanding that the four phases of release would only be fulfilled if
there was progress in the negotiations. Abbas has made it abundantly
clear that he will not compromise on anything and yet the Americans
persist in exerting pressure. There are unconfirmed reports that the
Americans are even considering the release of Pollard to make the
terrorist release more palatable to the Israeli public and induce
Netanyahu to include Arab Israeli terrorists (which Israel had never
endorsed) in the final phase. If Pollard, who by any benchmark should
have been released a long time ago, is now to be used as a pawn to
pressure Israel to release more mass murderers, it reflects an
abominable, almost obscene, lapse in morality on the part of the Obama
Administration.
To add to this madness, Abbas
demands further that even if we release the last batch of murderers, he
will not proceed with further “negotiations” unless Israel undertakes to
release more killers and freezes all construction over the green line.
Even Tzipi Livni despaired, agreeing that under such circumstances the
final phase should not be implemented.
Our government must be aware
that irrespective of what concessions Israel makes, once the
Palestinians feel that they have squeezed to the maximum, they will then
proceed to the United Nations and canvass the international courts at
The Hague to charge us with breaches of international law in order to
initiate boycotts and delegitimize us.
We are not privy to the threats
the government is facing from the US Administration. But Netanyahu must
now consider biting the bullet, rejecting American pressure and, if
necessary, presenting our case directly to the American people.
We would reiterate that there is
no desire to rule over Palestinians – emphasizing that the overwhelming
majority are effectively already ruling themselves.
It must be stressed that Israel
is located in a regional scorpion’s den, drawing attention to the
barbaric and bestial crimes in which over 150,000 people were butchered
in Syria. Missiles are still being launched against our civilians from
neighboring Palestinians.
We should remind them that we
face barbarians at our gates and that our principal concern is to ensure
the security of our children and grandchildren. For that reason, if we
cannot reach a meaningful agreement, we must reluctantly live with the
status quo.
Israel will continue to promote
economic relations with the Palestinians, hoping that in the course of
time, new leaders will emerge who are willing to make concessions and
recognize our security requirements. Then the two state solution could
become an overnight reality and joint Israel Palestinian co-operation
would enable us all to prosper and enjoy a bright future. This is the
distant dream to which most Israelis still aspire but alas, as of now,
is not even on the horizon.
This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom
Isi Leibler may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com; His website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.
Source: http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=5038
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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