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 formula is adopted which is
nonbinding and incorporates sufficient reservations to make it
meaningless. Regrettably, the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. in
both Israel and the Arab world plummeting to its lowest level.
U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry has blustered and zigzagged between intimidating and
occasionally placating Israel. The pressure was exerted overwhelmingly
toward Israel while the Palestinians, who were treated with kid gloves,
refused to make a single meaningful compromise. This generated enormous
frustration and resentment of the U.S. among Israelis.
The positive memories
of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel and the ongoing defense
support and cooperation -- now at an all-time high -- were overshadowed
by Israeli anger against the U.S. for bullying its government into
releasing brutal mass murderers who were subsequently glorified as
heroes by the Palestinian Authority.
The PA demanded this as
a prerequisite even to 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 that 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 Yassir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas rejected Israeli
offers of 95% of territories over the Green Line, without even making
counteroffers.
By now, they should
recognize that the objective of the Palestinian leaders is not the
acquisition of land, but the end of Jewish sovereignty in the region.
This explains their adamant refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish
state.
The U.S. administration
ignores the reality that the corrupt and duplicitous PA chairman,
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 U.S. 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 3-4% 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
To further muddy the
waters, in order to induce Israel to concede to further Palestinian
demands including the release of more prisoners and the imposition of a
form of construction freeze on settlements, Kerry offered to free
Jonathan Pollard. There were outraged protests in the U.S. as well as in
Israel condemning this trade-off between freeing Pollard (who by any
benchmark should have been released a long time ago) and mass murderers.
For the time being it is no longer on the agenda. Should it proceed, it
will be scandalous for Israel to have agreed and represents an obscene
lapse in morality on the part of the Obama administration.
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 U.S. 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
cooperation 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.
Isi Leibler's website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com. He may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com.
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