Israel Matzav

Saudi Arabia, Syria agree to attend 'peace conference'

Saudi Arabia has agreed to attend the 'peace conference' that US President Bush called for in his July 16 speech regarding our region.

"We are interested in the peace conference," said Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"When we get an invitation from the minister [Rice] to attend, when this takes place, we will discuss it and we will make sure that we attend the conference," al-Faisal said.

Syria has also agreed to attend.

I can just imagine the conversation among Rice, Gates and al-Faisal:

Rice/Gates: We have agreed to sell you $20 billion in advanced weaponry. Even though we are saying for public consumption that we expect no quid pro quo, we need you to come to the conference we are holding in New York or Washington this fall.

al-Faisal: What's in it for me?

Rice/Gates: Aside from the weapons? Lots of things. First, we'll use the conference as an occasion for pressuring Israel to accept a 'Palestinian' state reichlet. Olmert wants to accept a 'Palestinian state,' and he may not be around much after the fall, because once the final Winograd Commission report is released and shows what a failure he was last summer, all hell is likely to break loose there politically and we could end up with Netanyahu as Prime Minister. Netanyahu will never agree to a 'Palestinian state' himself, but as we saw when he was elected in 1996, he will honor agreements that are already in place. We have to get Olmert's agreement before it's too late.

Second, we'll use the conference to present a united front against Iran. If Iran uses nuclear weapons against Israel, thousands of Arabs will be killed and the nuclear fallout is likely to reach the Kingdom. Of course, the quid pro quo for stopping Iran will be that Israel will have to sign the non-proliferation treaty and submit to inspections. Olmert will agree to that too because he is desperate for a diplomatic breakthrough to keep himself in power.

al-Faisal: Don't Israeli treaties have to be approved by the Knesset? How will Olmert ever get the Knesset to agree?

Rice/Gates: Olmert has a coalition of 78 MK's out of 120, not including Arab parties. Under the Israeli system, he will make it into a 'no confidence' vote. If it loses, the government would be forced to call for new elections. None of the 78 MK's in the coalition want new elections. They fear Netanyahu would win, but more than that, they fear that they would no longer be Knesset members and/or ministers. And they are right. They would lose. So they will do anything to keep themselves in power. Including emasculating their country's defenses.

al-Faisal: What about the 'refugees'? You know we could never sign a paper that just says that there will be a 'Palestinian state' without dealing with the 'refugees.'

Rice/Gates: We will present evidence that most of the 'refugees' have no interest in returning to 'Palestine' that will mollify the Israeli government. Olmert has already recognized the 'right of return. True, he only recognized it with respect to the 'West Bank,' which is where the 'Palestinian state' is going to be anyway. But Israel's Supreme Court has already ruled that the Israel Lands Authority cannot refuse to sell Jewish National Fund-purchased lands to Arabs. You can buy up the land the same way the Jews did eighty years ago. Once you own the land, you come to 'visit' and just stay.

al-Faisal: What about the Knesset bill to overrule the Supreme Court?

Rice/Gates: Olmert has promised to see to its failure in second and third reading. They will do what he tells them to do.

al-Faisal: And what if the 'Palestinians' don't want to leave their host countries?

Rice/Gates: We won't force Jordan, Lebanon, Syria or Iraq to change anything in their current treatment of the 'Palestinians.' Eventually, they will catch on that they are better off 'returning.' And once they return in significant numbers, demography will take over. Those Jews who can will leave.

al-Faisal: And the Golan?

Rice/Gates: Olmert has already agreed to give it up in return for AWACS. We figured you wouldn't mind since you already have AWACS yourselves.

al-Faisal: Yes, we can live with that.

Sounds like a real beautiful scenario, doesn't it?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:27 AM