Making the 'Palestinians' accountable
In today's Jerusalem Post, two American congresswomen - Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the Ranking Republican on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, a Democrat from the State of Nevada - promote a wonderful, if not that original idea (although its actual execution would be quite original): Make the 'Palestinians' accountable for their actions by withholding US aid from them when they don't live up to their commitments.We must pursue a policy that sets and enforces higher standards for Palestinian behavior, and provides consequences if they fail to perform. The first step is to link our support to results. Instead of disbursing millions to Palestinian leaders in the hope they will change their ways, we must link each disbursement of funds to tangible progress, consistent with the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, in purging from its security services individuals with ties to terrorism; dismantling all terrorist infrastructure within its jurisdiction and fully cooperating with Israel's security services; halting all anti-American and anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian Authority-controlled media; adopting reforms aimed at ensuring transparent and accountable governance; and ensuring the financial transparency and accountability of all government ministries and operations.Unfortunately, don't hold your breath waiting for any of these ideas to be implemented, for the 'Palestinians' to suddenly turn into a reliable partner for 'peace,' for Israel - let alone the United States - to insist on the 'Palestinians' fulfilling their commitments, or for 'peace' in the Middle East to come in any of our lifetimes.
If the Palestinians do not achieve the intended results, they must not receive US assistance or the legitimacy of political support from US officials.
Simultaneously, the United States must end our support for entities that only serve to perpetuate the Palestinian conflict. We must not blindly hold out false hope that the corrupt Fatah leadership will be able to bring peace without the US holding them accountable. We must support abolishing the UN's biased Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, and other duplicative and incendiary institutions within the United Nations framework.
The United States must settle for nothing less than a genuine partner for peace with Israel that leads, and sets the tone in achieving results. Only then, will there be a glimmer of hope for lasting peace and security in the region.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:41 AM
1 Comments:
Congress already passed the Palestinian Accountability Act of 2006. President would not sign without a waiver (think of the Jerusalem Relocation Act).
Even if sanctions were to be imposed without a presidential waiver, it would be left to the state department to verify compliance (Congress has no ability to monitor), and State would simply say that the Palestinians are complying.
Ros-Lehtinen is one of the most pro-Israel congresspersons, and her rhetoric is always spot on, but unfortunately, accountability is a White House issue and the White House has failed.
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