Reading the newspapers today I was struck over and over again by references to the “peace process” and how the consequences of Sharon’s stroke jeopardizes or stalls the “peace process” from moving forward.
Let me very clear; there is no peace process, hence, whether Sharon is at the helm of the Israeli state or not, does not jeopardize or stall the non-existent peace process. There was a Road Map to a peace process but the Palestinian’s could not manage to live up to the pre-requisite obligations under the Road Map in order to enter into the “peace process” of the Road Map’s phased plan for peace.
The Palestinian Authority was to act decisively to disarm the terror groups operating in the disputed territories. Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has consistently and publicly refused to disarm the terror groups, furthermore, the Palestinian leadership is also obligated to end all incitement against the Israel on state run television, newspapers and radio which to date has never happened. Passing legislation less than a month ago to compensate and provide a pension to a “martyr’s” family from the treasury of the Palestinian Authority for having a family member killed in the act of attempting to kill Israelis and have this legislation not perceived as an example of state sponsored incitement is beyond my ability to fathom or reason.
The Israeli unilateral disengagement from Gaza meant exactly that – Sharon woke up one morning and announced to Israelis and the world at large, that as Prime Minister of Israel, the Israelis were unilaterally disengaging from any negotiated arrangement or settlement with the Palestinians over the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians had absolutely no choice or say whether the Israelis stayed or left. Sharon could have changed his mind as quickly as he made it up, and then what? Call him a liar? Fire kassam rockets barrages into Israel, attempt to blow up a mall or a market, send in the suicidal bombers to Israeli hospitals, or arrange for sniper attacks against Israeli civilians? My bad, that’s what the Palestinians have been doing since the alleged period of calm PA Chairman Abbas negotiated for Israel. From February 2005 to December 31, 2005 there have been 2,990 terror attacks against Israel.
The Palestinians cannot be considered viable peace partners for Israel when a substantial portion of their leadership and followers refuse to accept a truce which includes the total cessation of hostilities with Israel or who are set to celebrate the death of the only Israeli Prime Minister who has agreed in principle to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state co-existing beside Israel in peace and security.
There are only three ways out of the stark morass that the Israelis are. They can look for a leader who is willing to carry out more Sharon-style unilateral disengagements from the disputed territories and draw the final borders of Israel regardless of Palestinian desires or aspirations but which offers no guarantees of peace now or in the future. They can look to a leader who will physically remove from the disputed territories any and all Palestinians who pose a threat to the Israeli state and her citizens but that is the way of war and not peace. The third way is to elect a leadership who is committed to the present state of détente until the Palestinian have learned to love their children more than they hate the Jews.
2 comments:
And what do you think of Obadiah Shoher's arguments against the peace process ( samsonblinded.org/blog/we-need-a-respite-from-peace.htm )?
I agree with most of it, thought I suspect I came to more or less the same conclusion in a slightly different fashion than he did.
I believe that a second Palestinian state will never lead to peace and security for the Israelis. Firstly, because it will never be an independent state which can prosper separately. Statehood is not the balm against Arab terrorism. Once the dysfunctional state starts to flounder it will once again look with covetness at Israel, hence the attacks will start again. In fact, I would go so far as to predict it will happen at least once every generation. In every generation a new Arab entity will arise whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state.
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