Israel Matzav

Blair: Call off the Arab spring!

Quartet envoy Tony Blair worries that the 'Arab spring' could set back the 'Middle East peace process.'

“It is a great thing that people are wanting democracy, but in the short term there is reduced stability in the region so that can pose problems for Israel and the peace process,” said Blair. “Because of the instability and uncertainty in the region, it’s right that we grip the peace process and put it back on track again.

“We need strong, clear commitments that both parties will produce comprehensive proposals on borders and security within 90 days,” he said.

Underlining the bleak prospects for a breakthrough, Israel recently unveiled plans for new settlement building including 2,600 homes on land near east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians aim to found their capital.

Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority refuses to hold direct talks with Israel until it stops building Jewish settlements on land it wants for a state.

“It’s a problem, there is no doubt about that at all,” said Blair, a former British prime minister who represents the Quartet.

“There is a clear line of the Quartet statement about refraining from provocative actions and it’s important that’s adhered to,” he told Reuters in an interview at a business forum by the Dead Sea in Jordan. “You cannot expect people to go into a process then have unilateral actions that are going to disrupt it.”

By arranging separate meetings in Jerusalem, the Quartet failed to meet a goal set out in a September 23 statement to bring the parties together for a “preparatory meeting” aimed at reviving the peace talks that broke down more than a year ago.

Blair is right. The Arab spring has set back the 'peace process.' But not because it causes instability. Rather because it wakes Israeli Jews up to the reality that our 'peace treaties' with Egypt and Jordan - and those we have proposed to make with Syria and the 'Palestinians' - are 'peace treaties' with dictators. The Arab masses don't want peace with us and will not accept us. THAT is the lesson of the Arab spring. And it's good that we learned it now before it is too late.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Arab spring, Middle East peace process

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:46 AM