Mahmoud Abbas has said he won’t negotiate without a total building freeze, including the areas of Jerusalem that will be traded to Israel. I anxiously await the 42-minute dressing down of Abbas by Hillary Clinton, the condemnations by the vice-president, Robert Gibbs, and Barack Obama.
Oh, wait. No, I really don’t. Because in this world, every day is Israeli Double Standard Time, and the Palestinians are never punished for intransigence. In fact, the word “intransigence” is generally used only to describe the Israelis when they don’t agree to everything the Palestinians ever want.
The Palestinian president warned on Sunday that he would not accept a U.S. proposal for resuming peace talks unless Israel stops building homes for Jews in disputed east Jerusalem.
Mahmoud Abbas’ position complicated already troubled American efforts to restart peace talks. Israeli hard-liners say they won’t accept the proposed 90-day moratorium on new settlement construction in the West Bank if it also includes east Jerusalem.
The Palestinians say there can’t be peace talks if Israel continues to build homes in captured territories where they want to establish an independent state. In Cairo on Sunday, Abbas said any construction freeze must include east Jerusalem “first and foremost.”
Of course, the media blames Israel. So does the administration. Blame the man who started it all by insisting in Cairo that “settlement” building had to stop? Feh. Obama bears no blame for anything. Just ask him.
Well if the paslis don’t want to negotiate for an independent state because the Israelis are building housing for their citizens in Israel’s capital, then that’s just too bad. They can live without an independent state then.
The Palis have threatened to declare their independence unilaterally. I’d say let them go ahead. Then Israel can say, “OK, we recognize your state but not including Jerusalem, which is our capital. If “Palestine” conducts any acts of war, or allows any acts of war from its territory, against Israel, any at all, Zahal will be all over you like white on rice the next day. Presence of another country’s army in “Palestine” will also constitute an act of war. Acquisition by the Palis of heavy weapons such as tanks, combat aircraft, or rockets will also constitute an act of war. This is because Israel cannot afford to see an enemy with such armaments positioned to cut the country in two by moving fifteen kilometers westward. In such a case Israel will pull no punches, as she has so often done. Keep the peace and you’ll be safe. Cross us and you’ll die.”