Israel Matzav

'It's the 'Palestinians' fault there are no negotiations' says.... Steny Hoyer

Earlier this week, I blogged an article that argued that Congress is in the process of reining in what it sees as President Obama's excess pressure on Israel. The arguments in favor of Congress reining Obama in were 71 Senators signing on to the Bayh-Resch letter urging President Obama to pressure Arab countries to make confidence building gestures to Israel and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) (pictured with Shimon Peres) telling the Jerusalem Post that 'east' Jerusalem is different from the 'West Bank.'

Now, there is another data point and it comes from Hoyer again. Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that it's the 'Palestinians' fault that there are no negotiations between the 'Palestinians' and Israel.

"I think the largest thing impeding the negotiations at this point is simply the unwillingness of (Palestinian president Mahmud) Abbas to sit down (with the Israelis)," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem.

Abbas has refused to meet with Israel's new right-leaning government until the Jewish state ceases all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank in line with repeated demands from the White House.

Hoyer however said the issue of settlements should be addressed through direct negotiations and said if he had met Abbas during his delegation's week-long visit to the region, he would have asked him to drop "preconditions."

"The United States' policy has been for a stop to any additional settlements. That is a thorny, tough issue... It's an issue that has to be solved at the negotiating table," he said.

The delegation of 29 congressional Democrats met several senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad.

Hoyer said a scheduled meeting with Abbas had been cancelled because it conflicted with the Palestinian leader's Fatah party congress.

While I am happy to see the 'Palestinians' blamed, I believe that blame is at least partly misplaced. A major portion of the blame for the fact that there are no negotiations lies with American President Barack Hussein Obama. By attempting to pressure Israel from the day he took office, Obama ratcheted up the 'Palestinian' and Arab demands so that now the 'Palestinians' believe that they can go for broke and that the United States will deliver a humiliated Israel to the 'negotiations table' (actually more like the guillotine) on a silver platter. Until Obama puts real pressure on the 'Palestinians' - most likely by telling them that if they don't come to the table he will wash his hands of the entire affair and let the Israelis do what they see fit - the 'Palestinians' will continue to hold out for their maximalist demands. Obama is unlikely to put that kind of pressure on the 'Palestinians' - he and his supporters are too sympathetic to their cause.

I don't believe anything will happen between Israel and the 'Palestinians' until at least after the 2010 midterm elections. If there is a significant shift in Congress after the 2010 elections, the administration may be forced to adopt a more even-handed approach and the 'Palestinians' and their Arab allies may be forced to take a more realistic position as a result.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:08 PM