Secret negotiations regarding a ‘peace’ agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (as represented by Mahmoud Abbas) are continuing, and so are leaks about what is being offered. Jerusalem will somehow be divided, much of the West Bank will come under Palestinian control, and something — no-one knows for sure what — will be done in regard to the descendants of Palestinian refugees.
The problem is that Abbas has absolutely no ability to deliver anything in return from the Palestinians, and even less from the other parties in the conflict. Even if he wanted to, which is in dispute, he cannot prevent terrorism from areas which are not under IDF control, and he cannot prevent a Hamas takeover there either.
So while opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu can list all of the likely consequences of the planned concessions, nobody can tell us how Abbas or anyone else can guarantee — or even make likely — any kind of peace afterwards.
Indeed, based on Palestinian reactions to previous concessions, we can expect the opposite.
In addition, supposing that such a deal is made, will Iran agree that Israel can be allowed to exist? Will Hezbollah stop preparing for another rocket war? Will Syria stand down her chemical-warhead tipped missiles? Will Hamas stop its arms smuggling, rocket firing, and war preparations?
A peace agreement would be a two-sided deal, with both sides making concessions and some kind of guarantee that there would be peace. What is being talked about is something different entirely:
A surrender agreement.
Technorati Tags: Israel, Palestinians, Netanyahu
I heard Barry Rubin in a talk recently. He suggested that what Olmert is doing is going through the motions. No one believes that the Palestinians can really deliver at this point. How can they? They are divided politically and now even geographically, ‘Fatah’ in Judea and Samaria and ‘Hamas’ in Gaza. Morevoer as this article indicates Abbas has no real power to deliver anything.
Yet it is a bit troubling to read about the exaggerated Palestinian demands, the threats( This always seems to be a part of the Culture even when they have nothing to threaten us with).
My own troubled conclusion is that the Palestinian leadership like the Arab leadership like the active Islamic leadership in terms of this particular conflict , simply do not believe their own interests served by ‘peace’