Israel Matzav

The 'two-state solution' is not a synonym for peace

The creation of, as President Obama envisions, “two states, living side by side in peace and security” is an appealing goal. But with whom would the Obama administration negotiate to achieve it? In the current talks, the Palestinian people will be represented by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

But do Abbas and his Fatah party truly speak for a majority of Muslims? Hamas is much stronger and more competent than Fatah and rules Gaza and its 1.5 million Palestinians with apparent popular support. It also holds a majority in the Palestinian parliament.

As Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said last month, “The world will deal with us not because it wants to deal with us but because it has to deal with us. Hamas … has emerged as an important player in the region. It’s clear it cannot be bypassed.”

But Hamas is a terrorist organization that’s funded by Iran to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Obama’s vision cannot be realized when one side is led by a terrorist group whose governing charter calls for the destruction of the other side.

Even high-ranking Fatah officials hold beliefs that would make negotiations futile. In 2009, Muhammad Dahlan, leader of Fatah in Gaza, said, “For the 1,000th time, I want to reaffirm that we are not asking Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Rather, we are asking Hamas not to do so, because Fatah never recognized Israel’s right to exist.”

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:28 AM