As a first step in the new initiative to facilitate the
divorce between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, the U.S. Administration and
Bahrain announced that they would host an economic workshop entitled “Peace
to Prosperity” in the Bahraini capital of Manama on June 25 and 26, 2019.
This is to bring together governments, global institutions,
business leaders, to share idea, discuss strategies, and galvanize support for
economic investments and initiatives to make a peace agreement possible.
“Peace to Prosperity” more accurately described
as prosperity for peace, plans to construct an ambitious framework for a
prosperous future for Palestinian Arabs. If implemented, it will have the
potential to open up a whole new future to them.
Sadly, expectedly, the Palestinian Authority have pre-empted
this initiative by rejecting the notion of any peace with Israel. After decades
of complaints, they have, yet again, showed their unwillingness to compromise
on their political and theocratic dogmas that have held back peace and a better
future for their people.
As the cliché goes, the Palestinians never miss an
opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Mismanagement, poverty, waste, rampant corruption, and a
pursuit of anti-Semitic violence and terror by the dual Palestinian governing
kleptocracies have left their people destitute.
Channeling money into building terror infrastructures and
rewarding murderers with their “Pay to Slay” policy takes preference
over normalization and peace with Israel.
This is a serious violation of international law, as well as
United Nations declarations calling for states and regimes to refrain from
financing terror activities.
Given the dire economic situations in areas controlled by the
Palestinian Authority and Hamas one would assume that logic would dictate a
more receptive approach to a permanent global solution to the Israel-Palestine
conflict. But this is not the case, on the Palestinian side.
The Palestinian leadership decided to boycott the Bahrain
summit. Instead, they lapsed back into their usual rejectionist narrative and
insults against those who are gathering in an attempt to help them to a
brighter future.
Saeb Erekat, the chief PLO negotiator, said, “We do not
mandate anyone to negotiate on our behalf. Palestine’s full economic potential
can only be achieved by ending the Israeli occupation…”
What did he think this economic conference was setting out to
do? Hand him the whole of Israel on a plate?
In another show of utter negativity, Palestinian official,
Nabil Sha’ath, said, “The Manama meeting is one phase in a larger effort to
undermine Palestinian rights and normalize Israeli violations, while promoting
Israel-Arab normalization.”
It is normalization with Israel that has always been at the
heart of Palestinian rejectionism for a century, See my video “100 Years of
Palestinian History.” It is what is keeping them as a thorn in the Middle
East that is frustrating not only to Israel but to their once friendly Arab
neighbors.
This attitude belatedly raises serious concerns about the
ability and capability of the Palestinian leadership to deliver any hope for
peace, and to raise the prospects of their people to a better future.
All past agreements demand of the Palestinians to commit to a
peaceful resolution to the conflict allowing all outstanding issues to be
resolved through negotiations. This is something that the split Palestinian
political divide have stubbornly refused to do for decades. Neither the
PLO-Fatah led PA not Hamas-Islamic Jihad are speaking to each other, and both
sides of that divide hate the notion of living in peace alongside the Jewish
State.
This truth can clearly be seen in the September 1993 letter
in which Yasser Arafat agreed that “upon signed the Declaration of
Principles, the PLO encourages and calls upon the Palestinian people in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip to take part in steps leading to the normalization
of life, rejecting violence and terrorism, contributing to peace and stability
and participating actively in shaping reconstruction, economic development and
cooperation.”
Arafat signed that the Palestinians would recognize Israel’s “legitimate
and political rights, and is committed to strive to live in peaceful
coexistence and mutual dignity and security and achieve a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace settlement and historical reconciliation through the agreed
political process.”
Instead of progressing peace with Israel, Arafat called the
Oslo Accord document, signed on the White House lawn in front of an
international gathering, his Treaty of Hudaibiya, referring to the truce
deceptively signed by Mohammad with the Banu Quraish Jewish tribe of Mecca in a
moment of weakness as he prepared to return and exterminate them.
The Oslo Accord has been torn up daily by the murderous
actions, the deceptive diplomacy and the self-proclaimed refusals to
acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state from both Mahmoud
Abbas and Hamas.
There was a clear obligation on the part of the Palestinian
leadership, both in Ramallah and in Gaza, to commit to the peace process for
the sake of the development and prosperity of their own people as much as for
the security of Israelis. At the end of the day, it will be the Palestinian Arabs
that would benefit and gain economically more than Israelis who, despite the
ongoing conflict, have built a remarkable advanced nation in such a short time
and against all odds.
By boycotting the Bahrain Peace to Prosperity Conference the
Palestinian leadership have once again hit out against Israel, the United
States, and insulted their Arab neighbors.
Worse of all, they have, again, badly let down their own
people.
As Ambassador Alan Baker of the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs wrote, “It is a sad reflection on a misguided and irresponsible
leadership that prefers conflict, incitement, and hostility, rather than the
hope for peace and economic improvement for the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinians still see themselves as the spearhead of the
Arab war against the Jews. You can see this in their founding charters and hear
it on a daily basis in their public incitement against “the Jews and their
filthy feet” and the holy imperative not to spare “one drop of blood”
in cleansing Palestine of the Jews, a Palestine “from the river to the sea.”
This, from the Palestinian Authority, our designated “peace partner”
with their “Kill a Jew” reward system, and from their mortal enemy,
Hamas.
While appreciating the Trump initiative, no peace is remotely
possible with such an implacable enemy.
This was summed up neatly by Jason Greenblatt, President
Trump’s Middle East envoy, who tweeted, “The PA is calling for
demonstrations against the Bahrain workshop. Tells you everything you need to
know about their priorities and intentions. Their leadership is happy with the
status quo and would rather Palestinians suffer than at least explore a
different path to a better future.”
Actually, Mr. Greenblatt, the history of the Palestinian Arabs tells you all you need to know about them.
Jewish Palestinians gladly compromised in 1947 and accepted the UN resolution that granted them a Jewish state in truncated territory. Building a national home for the benefit of its people was always a priority for Israel. Not so the Palestinian Arabs. Not then and not now.
In the same year, India and Pakistan dropped territorial claims in favor of peace and independence. No so the Palestinian Arabs. It was all or nothing for them. No compromise.
In 2000, Israel was prepared to accept full Palestinian statehood on 92% of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip. This offer was rejected.
A year later, at Taba, Israel increased the offer to 97% of the West Bank as part of a comprehensive peace proposal. This too was rejected by the Palestinians.
Israelis gasped in shock when they learned in 2008 that Prime Minister Olmert had offered Mahmoud Abbas almost all the territory up to the 1967 armistice lines, but they were shocked further when the Palestinian leader rejected even this.
A year later, when Israel agreed to a ten-month freeze on settlement building in Judea & Samaria as a pre-condition to restart negotiations, Israelis were no longer surprised when Mahmoud Abbas refused to come to the table to talk.
Is it any wonder that Israelis were no longer surprised when the Palestinians insulted the recent attempts to kick-start a peace process that includes a record-breaking economic package to turn a rejectionist and split regime into a functioning and prosperous modern state,
Israel’s foremost diplomat, Abba Eban, once famously said, back in 1973, that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
By turning off both the United States and their willing Arab neighbors, this is likely to be the last opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to deliver a better future for their people.
Actually, Mr. Greenblatt, the history of the Palestinian Arabs tells you all you need to know about them.
Jewish Palestinians gladly compromised in 1947 and accepted the UN resolution that granted them a Jewish state in truncated territory. Building a national home for the benefit of its people was always a priority for Israel. Not so the Palestinian Arabs. Not then and not now.
In the same year, India and Pakistan dropped territorial claims in favor of peace and independence. No so the Palestinian Arabs. It was all or nothing for them. No compromise.
In 2000, Israel was prepared to accept full Palestinian statehood on 92% of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip. This offer was rejected.
A year later, at Taba, Israel increased the offer to 97% of the West Bank as part of a comprehensive peace proposal. This too was rejected by the Palestinians.
Israelis gasped in shock when they learned in 2008 that Prime Minister Olmert had offered Mahmoud Abbas almost all the territory up to the 1967 armistice lines, but they were shocked further when the Palestinian leader rejected even this.
A year later, when Israel agreed to a ten-month freeze on settlement building in Judea & Samaria as a pre-condition to restart negotiations, Israelis were no longer surprised when Mahmoud Abbas refused to come to the table to talk.
Is it any wonder that Israelis were no longer surprised when the Palestinians insulted the recent attempts to kick-start a peace process that includes a record-breaking economic package to turn a rejectionist and split regime into a functioning and prosperous modern state,
Israel’s foremost diplomat, Abba Eban, once famously said, back in 1973, that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
By turning off both the United States and their willing Arab neighbors, this is likely to be the last opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to deliver a better future for their people.
By rejecting Bahrain, they are leading themselves, their
people, and the region into a darker, more uncertain, place.
The world will slowly realise that it is the current hybrid Palestinian leadership, both Fatah-PLO in Ramallah and Hamas-Islamic Jihad in Gaza that are the exclusive obstacle to peace, and that no peace is possible with this status quo.
The world will slowly realise that it is the current hybrid Palestinian leadership, both Fatah-PLO in Ramallah and Hamas-Islamic Jihad in Gaza that are the exclusive obstacle to peace, and that no peace is possible with this status quo.
Barry Shaw is the International Public Diplomacy Director at
the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies and the author of ‘Fighting
Hamas, BDS and Anti-Semitism.’
Now why will the so called Palestinians accept the offer??
ReplyDeleteThere is no glory in dealing with every day tasks of sewage garbage collection roads and so on
We want war terror so we the leaders can sponge the till to increase my bank account
the peoples welfare are not interesting to the the leaders
Trump calls this "The Deal of the Century" - in other words, this century there will be no other deal. Take it or Leave it, Arab Politicians. They will surely Leave it. Ergo: the end of US support for the Arab claims to parts of Israel, Judea, Samaria and the Golan at least until the end of the Trump presidency.
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