Israel Matzav

We've been here before

Jennifer Rubin points out the lack of transparency in the Obama administration's approach to Hamas and then asks

How can Israel sit down when we don’t even know the identity of the Palestinians’ representation?

We've been down that road before. In 1991, the George H.W. Bush administration railroaded Israel into the Madrid Conference in the aftermath of Gulf War I. At the time, the PLO was about where Hamas is today in terms of recognizing Israel (not that they have really moved much further but they were saying the same things that Hamas is saying today). Israel agreed to go to Madrid provided that any 'Palestinians' there would be part of the Jordanian delegation and not connected to the PLO.

Well, surprise. It turns out that every time the 'Palestinians' needed to answer something, they would excuse themselves and go call Yasser Arafat. Eventually, the sham was exposed, but there was nothing Israel could do about it, and the PLO terror organization gained credibility as a result of the US granting it legitimacy.

Will a 'Palestinian Authority' delegation to 'peace talks' include people chosen by Hamas? Bet on it.

Labels: Hamas, Madrid Conference, PLO

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:40 PM