by Ruthie Blum
On Friday, just as he
was about to return to the United States from Jordan, U.S. Secretary of
State John Kerry announced that he had finally gotten the Palestinian
Authority and Israel to agree to resume "stalled peace talks."
His sigh of relief was
almost as palpable as it was audible. After a round of media reports
about imminent consent on both sides to negotiate a "two-state
solution," Kerry was desperate to make the false rumors come true.
Otherwise, he was going to have to go back to Washington empty-handed
and with considerable egg on his face.
What he did, instead, was to cook up a hasty omelet.
"The agreement is still
in the process of being formalized," he said, modifying the so-called
good news. "So we are absolutely not going to talk about any of the
elements now."
But he did want to
assure everyone that it was a done deal -- not a peace deal, mind you,
nor anything close to actual consent on the part of the PA even to
engage in negotiations. Still, there was enough ostensible acquiescence
for Kerry to work with.
To not lose the
illusion of momentum, he scheduled a tentative meeting in Washington at
some point in the near future between PA professional negotiator Saeb
Erekat and Israeli Justice Minister-cum-peace-processer Tzipi Livni
(accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confidante, attorney
Yitzhak Molcho.)
No sooner had Kerry
boarded his plane, however, than the Palestinians began to reiterate
their terms -- again, not for peace, but for talks. These preconditions
include an Israeli commitment to a withdrawal to the 1967 borders [sic]; a
settlement freeze; and the release of 104 terrorists with gallons of
innocent Israeli blood on their hands. As was reported by Israel's
Channel 10 News, Netanyahu has capitulated on the terrorist issue --
though his intention is to release "only" 82.
Meanwhile, senor PA
official Nabil Shaath told Maan news agency on Sunday that a resumption
of negotiations "depends on two steps we asked the American side to
agree on. If they agree, we will go to the next step, which is
preliminary negotiations in Washington to discuss the rules and the
terms of direct negotiations."
Though he did not
specify the nature of these "steps," one can assume that peace is
nowhere in the vicinity of the ladder, let alone at the top.
This is a safe
assumption based on vast experience. The Palestinians never have
relinquished their ultimate goal, which is not statehood, but the demise
of Israel. Hamas readily admits and acts on this. The PA also acts on
it, but only spells it out in Arabic. It is a key part of an overall
strategy.
Indeed, as Kerry was
declaring his success at getting the sides to come to the table on
Friday, PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud al-Habbash was giving a
whopper of a sermon -- broadcast on PA television and reported by
Palestinian Media Watch -- in which he explained the wisdom of reaching
fraudulent peace pacts with Israel.
"The Palestinian
leadership's sense of responsibility towards its nation made it take
political steps about 20 years ago [signing the Oslo Accords]," he
orated. "Despite … much opposition by some, it brought us to where we
are today: We have a [Palestinian] Authority and the world recognizes
the [Palestinian] state. All this never would have happened through
Hamas' impulsive adventure, but only through the wisdom of the
leadership, conscious action, consideration, and walking the right path,
which leads to achievement, exactly like the Prophet [Muhammad] did in
the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah."
"The Hudaybiyyah peace
treaty," explains the Palestinian Media Watch report, "was a 10-year
truce that Muhammad, Islam's prophet, made with the Quraish tribe of
Mecca … two years into the truce, Muhammad attacked and conquered
Mecca."
The sermon ends with Habbash asserting: "This is the example; this is the model."
The late Abba Eban, who
called the 1967 lines the "Auschwitz borders," once said that "the
Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Many complacent
Israelis employ this quote in relation to peace negotiations with the
Palestinians. "Nothing to worry about," they say. "The Palestinians
always screw up and storm off, no matter what Israel concedes."
The trouble is that the
form such tantrums take is the slaughter of Israeli civilians,
alongside the Israeli leadership's steadfast adherence to its
territorial and other concessions.
This is not a recipe for peace. It is a guarantee of war. Kerry can feel free to take full credit for what he is precipitating.
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=5083
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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