Israel Matzav

Time for the Poodle to retire

Oslo architect Yossi Beilin believes - correctly - that the Obama administration has bitten off more than it can chew in trying to bring about a resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Arabs. But like Obama, Beilin just can't let it go.

There are two possibilities. One is to wait until new leaders replace the present ones, although that would entail a loss of time and opportunities and be a gamble on the unknown. Nobody knows whether the next set of leaders will be any more interested in a peace agreement than the present ones.

The second is to change the goal of the talks, and to try and hold pragmatic talks on a temporary agreement, as per the second stage (a Palestinian state with temporary borders) of the “road map,” or the third withdrawal in the West Bank that Israel still owes the Palestinians, according to the interim agreement of 1995.

...

This is no simple matter. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would find it difficult to persuade his voters to uproot settlements and withdraw from most of the West Bank without any mention of the finality of the dispute, or of other advantages that would arise from a permanent peace agreement.

The Palestinians would be afraid that any temporary agreement would become a permanent one because the world would delude itself into believing that this regional conflict had been resolved, even though issues such as refugees and the status of Jerusalem wouldn’t be included in such an agreement.

The way to overcome the opposition is to guarantee that upon the signing of the interim agreement, a presidential declaration would be made, defining the detailed principles for a permanent-status agreement, as a clear American position, while the Arab countries would be asked to partially implement the 2002 Arab peace initiative toward Israel, and to send commercial representatives to Israel, or to show other indications of normal relations, even if they aren’t full diplomatic ones.

No, that's not the 'way to overcome the opposition.' The way to overcome the opposition and to make peace is to wait until the Arabs, including the 'Palestinians,' are ready to accept the existence of a Jewish state, and then make peace with the people and not just with a leader who is here today and gone tomorrow.

It's time to put Yossi Beilin and his Obamaesque dreams out to pasture. He brought Yasser Arafat and company back from oblivion in Tunisia, allowed hundreds - if not thousands - of terrorists into Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and cost more than 1,000 Israelis their lives. More Israelis have been murdered by terrorists since the Oslo declaration of principles 17 years ago than died in terror attacks in the preceding 45 years.

Hasn't Yossi Beilin done enough damage already?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:31 PM