by Prof. Eyal Zisser
Ultimately, the Palestinians will find themselves alone against Israel, and they must choose whether to continue expecting someone else to do their job for them.
Despite the rejoicing in Ramallah over the International Criminal Court's decision to investigate alleged Israeli war crimes, in actuality the decision and those preceding it have neither advanced nor will advance the Palestinians even an inch closer toward realizing their ambitions, nor will it improve the lives of the Palestinians living in Judea and Samaria and Gaza even one iota.
As a reminder, as early as 2004, the ICC ruled that the security barrier Israel built to protect its citizens against a deadly wave of terror was illegal, and asked that it be torn down. Then, too, the Palestinians cheered, but Israel ignored the decision and continued building the barrier, which contributed to reducing Palestinian violence against Israelis.
Past failures notwithstanding, the Palestinians continue pinning their hopes on international bodies where they have an automatic majority provided by countries for which the connection between justice, human rights, liberty and democracy is tenuous at best.
This Palestinian tactic is established and familiar. After failing in their efforts to break Israel's will with violence and terror, they now hope that cultural and economic boycotts, alongside decisions from UN organizations, will force Israel to its knees. Beyond all this, the Palestinians also hope that when the moment of truth arrives, the American administration will turn on Israel, as the Obama administration did in its last days in the White House.
The Palestinians, however, are destined for disappointment. Perhaps ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda represents the kind of anti-Israel sentiment espoused by the European left, but it does not represent the spirit of the times – not in Africa, from where she hails, nor in the Middle East. The spirit of the times, in fact, produced the Abraham Accords, whereby several leading Arab countries have declared that peace is the Arabs' only path forward, not the path of armed struggle the Palestinians continue to follow aimlessly.
Last week, when the Biden administration announced its foreign policy agenda, it also said it has no intention of sinking in the Middle East quicksand and that aside from its commitment to Israel's security it doesn't much care about the region's problems.
Ultimately, the Palestinians will find themselves alone against Israel, and they must choose whether to continue expecting someone else to do their job for them.
Moreover, the Palestinians could very well regret rejecting the Trump administration's deal of the century. Although it was far from meeting all their demands, it was firmly rooted in the realities on the ground, was roundly supported in the Arab world and Israel accepted its conditions. If the Palestinians would have accepted this plan, they would already be in the midst of the process of demarcating the border and solidifying sovereignty, even if only in some of the territory they seek for themselves. Now, it's reasonable to assume that aside from missing Trump, they will be left with nothing.
Prof. Eyal Zisser
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/the-palestinians-will-be-left-with-a-hague-hangover/
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