The 'Palestinians' outsmart themselves
The 'Palestinian' reaction to Prime Minister Netanyahu's policy address on Sunday night has been unusually hostile. Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah expressed outrage and shock on Sunday over Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's call for the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state and his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.There's more.
The officials said that the speech that Netanyahu delivered at Bar-Ilan University was much worse than they had expected.
They also warned that Netanyahu's policies would trigger a new intifada.
Some of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's top advisers accused Netanyahu of "burying the peace process" and said the ball was now in the court of US President Barack Obama.
"Netanyahu's speech is a blow to Obama before it's a blow to the Palestinians and Arabs," an Abbas aide said. "It's obvious, in the aftermath of this speech, that we are headed toward another round of violence and bloodshed."
In Ramallah, the 'Palestinian Authority's Saeb Erekat says that Netanyahu has put an end to the negotiations over final status and over Jerusalem. When he spoke of a demilitarized state he ended the negotiations. There is no need for any other negotiations. He never said 'two states.' Netanyahu will have to wait 1000 years to find a 'Palestinian' who will go along with this.Haaretz's Yoel Marcus, an extreme Leftist in good standing, claims that the ball is in President Obama's court and that it's up to him to 'save the Palestinians from themselves.' Well, here's hoping that Obama leaves the ball sitting on the court and makes the 'Palestinians' come and pick it up. That's not because I'm generally unsympathetic to the 'Palestinians' (which I am). It's because there comes a time in every child's life when a parent has to teach the child to find another way to deal with its problems aside from throwing tantrums. No one has ever made the 'Palestinians' do that. It's time that someone should.
But since the Leftist Jews won't force the 'Palestinians' to grow up and negotiate like adults, it is left to one of their own to do so. In the JPost, Khaled Abu Toameh asks why the 'Palestinian' reaction to Netanyahu's speech was so harsh. Here's what he has to say:
The harsh response of the PA is the direct result of high hopes that its leaders have pinned on the administration of US President Barack Obama.Yes, the expectations were high. But I would argue that there's a different reason why the 'Palestinians' reacted the way they did. Regular readers can already guess what's coming: The 'Palestinians' aren't interested in building a state. They're interested in destroying one: The State of Israel. To do so, they need to attain their maximalist demands, preferably without an end of conflict statement. What Netanyahu offered them doesn't come close. And - perhaps unwittingly - Abu Toameh himself proves it.
Reports about a looming crisis between the administration and Netanyahu over the future of the Middle East peace process, combined with Obama's conciliatory approach toward the Arab and Muslim worlds, created the impression in Ramallah that the Israeli government had no choice but to accept all the Palestinian demands.
Briefing reporters on the eve of Netanyahu's speech, some of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's top aides predicted that, in the wake of increased US pressure, Netanyahu would be forced to give in, freezing settlement construction and accepting the two-state solution.
That's why most of these aides expressed surprise when they heard the prime minister's uncompromising position on most of the sticking issues.
By completely rejecting Netanyahu's offer of a demilitarized state and his demand to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, the PA leadership has climbed a high tree from which it will find it difficult to climb down.
As in previous cases, this leadership has chosen to look at the empty half of the glass.
The fact that Netanyahu is even prepared to talk about a Palestinian state is in itself a major achievement. And so what if the future state of Palestine doesn't have an army and an air force? Why would Palestine need tanks and warplanes? Don't the Palestinians already have enough security forces and armed militias? Don't they already have enough ammunition and rockets?Yes, that's all true, unless the real goal is not to create a state but to destroy one.
The future state of Palestine will have to invest in government institutions and infrastructure instead of weapons. The Palestinians need jobs and good government more than they need an army and tanks.
And so, Abu Toameh argues, Binyamin Netanyahu has 'outsmarted' the 'Palestinians.' And perhaps he has. But more importantly, perhaps he has exposed the 'Palestinians' true intentions, and if Israel plays its cards right Netanyahu won't have to worry about how to outsmart them again. This time, the 'Palestinians' outsmarted themselves.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:10 PM
6 Comments:
problem is, like an indulgent parent, the europeans and US executive branch will always give in to salve the hurt feelings of the world's most dangerous two-year olds.
There are NEVER consequences to the sucky baby Palestinians for their tantrums.
Deja Vu.
I'm smelling a pretext along the lines of Arafat's reaction to Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount.
I've always been pretty impressed with Mr. Netanyahu. Very smart, very articulate and, unlike so many brilliant people, very connected with reality.
In this video, he showed these qualities in statesmanship and objective fairness. He played his cards brilliantly.
This does seem to have given the Palestinian politicians the opportunity to respond in kind or, in Abba Eben's famous words, yet again not miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. This time, Netanyahu will have shown clearly to the world that it's the Palestinians who reject peace and a just and secure two-state solution, not Israel.
Dat true. The Palestinians are the ones bearing the costs of continuing the conflict and they're falling further and further behind Israel every day. One thing they haven't done is to beat the Jews at their own game. Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.
Heh
Dat true. The Palestinians are the ones bearing the costs of continuing the conflict and they're falling further and further behind Israel every day. One thing they haven't done is to beat the Jews at their own game. Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen.
It all depends on how you lookat it. Blood payments from the US and Europe in arms and $ have never been greater. Israel has never been more demonized and more under assault from Europe and especially the US (well at least since Eisenhower); Israel is under the cloud of anihilation while the Palestinians continue to be protected and allowed to arm for yet another conflict that they will lose only to be rescued once again with $ and political consequences on Israel.
The only way to conclude that they are not, and have not, been in the drivers seat is if you believe they actually want a state next to Israel - rather than one instead of Israel.
While it is true that the ordinary palestinian citizen, whatever that means, is lagging behind his Israeli neighbor, it has not stopped that mythical creature from supporting terror attacks on Jews, and from supporting either the Islamist goons of Hamas, or the relatively secular goons of Fatah.
While I think Bibi is playing his hand well, to suggest that the Palestinians have been defeated is a bit premature.
The muzzies already have a state - it's called Jordan!
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