Matters are just unfolding with
regard to the UN vote on Palestinian state status, and almost certainly tomorrow
will bring more. Here I
will provide an overview:
On Thursday, Abbas secured from
the General Assembly precisely what I had written about -- the PLO delegation
was voted the status of non-member observer status. There were 138 states that supported the
motion, nine that opposed and 41 that abstained.
The legal consequences of this are
minimal -- including with regard to the International Criminal Court (about
which I'll have more to say soon).
The fallout is mostly political,
as there was an inordinate readiness within the UN membership, including by some
European states, to support this petition by Abbas; and this is in spite of
requests from Israel that it be rejected by European states.
~~~~~~~~~~
Abbas said the requisite
things about readiness to pursue peace negotiations yet again (although he made
no commitment to do so during his speech). But the speech oozed
obstinacy and venom.
He said, first, that "The
moment has arrived for the world to say clearly: Enough of aggression,
settlements and occupation." He was riding on a high, standing at that
podium, I have no doubt -- milking his position for all that it's worth,
confident that the world was listening to him.
Israel is not an occupier,
however, nor an aggressor, and settlements are not illegal.
Then he declared that the
Palestinian Arabs will accept no less than "the independence of Palestine with
east Jerusalem as its capital, on all the Palestinian territory occupied in
1967...and a solution for the refugee issue on the basis of Resolution 194
["return" is implied ],
I'm going to come back to these
charges and demands in a later posting, but suffice it to say that this is
an absolute non-starter: There is no give in this, as there has never been give
in the PLO position. These are terms that no government of Israel
would ever agree to.
For the record let me point out
once again that I am most certainly not endorsing negotiations
for a "two-state solution," but rather analyzing these demands within
the parameters of those who still persist in pushing this. Anyone who
wants to see such a solution must understand, and work on the premise, that
compromise will be necessary. But from the Palestinian Arab side there are
only absolute demands, making the possibility of fruitful negotiations
non-existent.
I wonder if even the
most deeply deluded international figures, who cling still to the
illusion of "two states," can fail to see the essential problem
here.
Add to this the fact that many of
the premises on which these demands are based are erroneous. Resolution
194, for example, does not provide for a "right of return," although the
Palestinian Arabs have been claiming so for a very long time.
~~~~~~~~~~
But it gets worse. Much
worse. Abbas also said this:
"Palestine comes today to the
United Nations General Assembly at a time when it is still tending to its wounds
and still burying its beloved martyrs of children, women and men who have fallen
victim in the latest Israeli aggression, still searching for remnants of life
amid the ruins of homes destroyed by Israeli bombs on the Gaza Strip, wiping out
entire families, their men, women and children murdered along with their dreams,
their hopes, their future and their longing to live an ordinary life and to live
freedom and peace."
Where does one begin, in
addressing these evil words, this libel of Israel? Left out of this
touching scenario were several highly significant facts:
[] That Israel's action was
defensive, in response to Hamas's rocket attacks on our civilians (which Abbas
conveniently forgot to mention).
[] That if there were civilians
killed it was because Hamas uses them as human shields, caring not a bit if they
are hit.
[] That Israel does more than any
other nation in the world to safeguard the lives of civilians in enemy
territory. During our recent operation, we made thousands of phone calls to
residents of Gaza, dropped leaflets by the tens of thousands, and otherwise
made extraordinary efforts to warn innocents to leave an area before a hit
was made. There were some 100 Gazans killed in the recent operation, most
of them terrorists. This business of searching for remnants of life
beneath rubble, and whole families wiped out is invention. Invention
designed to malign Israel and present the Gazans as victims, all at the
same time.
~~~~~~~~~~
These are not the words of
someone seeking to make peace. That essential fact smacks one in the
face. Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to Abbas's statements as
"hostile and poisonous." At the very least.
And so I return once again to my
thoughts about how those international "leaders" who are promoting negotiations
respond to this. Could they hear these words and remotely imagine that Abbas
would sit at the table in good faith? Do they think a man who so
grievously misrepresents could be trusted to stand behind any agreement
made? And do they expect Israel to swallow these words and pretend all is
well?
How, in his private thoughts, does
Obama reconcile this with his public stance?
~~~~~~~~~~
On Friday, after consultation with
his Inner Cabinet, Netanyahu made the decision that there would be 3,000 new
housing units approved for construction past the Green Line, in eastern
Jerusalem and somewhere in Judea and Samaria. I do not have specifics,
with one exception: The Israeli government now says we will build in area
E1, between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.
This is something that had been
planned for a long time -- designed ultimately to make Ma'ale Adumim
contiguous with Jerusalem -- but which was not advanced because of outside
pressure. Now the government says the decision is in Israel's best
interest. As I have understood it, the building projected for this
area is not primarily residential but includes such facilities
as a police station.
Credit: jr.co.il
I salute this move in its
entirety, with gladness and some tentative sense of
relief. Although far more is needed, it is a step in the right
direction -- hopefully a mark of very necessary courage and
determination.
What I pray is that this decision
will hold in the face of international condemnation.
~~~~~~~~~~
Needless to say, that condemnation
has started and it comes from Europeans and the US government alike. What we are
doing is, depending on who is speaking, either destructive of the "peace
process" or illegal. We are being called upon to reverse the
decision.
We always meet
with condemnation when we build past the Green Line -- which is why I
want to return again to the legal and historical refutation to that
condemnation.
But this time it is especially
bitter to me. For there was not the same sort of condemnation of Abbas's
obscene and aggressive words. No suggestion that this was not helpful to the
peace process, no expression of understanding (well, of course not) that Abbas's
tone had made it difficult for Israel to negotiate.
Equity, in terms of international
treatment, is not something that is in the cards for the Jewish State.
Although I will say that we have some staunch friends in Congress who are
reacting negatively to what Abbas has done. And I do not forget the
friendship Canada has accorded us.
~~~~~~~~~~
Abbas, by the way, has now
said he will come to the table -- but only with the understanding going in that
settlements are illegal. Right.
~~~~~~~~~~
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Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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