"But
Thursday night, in his interview to Israeli television, we "discovered" a
different Kerry: nasty, threatening, one-sided, blind to the malfeasance and
unreliability of Palestinian leaders, and dangerously oblique to the explosive
situation he himself is creating.
His
warnings about the coming isolation of Israel and of a third intifada unless
Israel quickly allows the emergence of a "whole Palestine" and ends it
"perpetual military occupation" of Judea and Samaria amount to unfriendly
pressure. Worse still, Kerry is trading treacherously in ugly self-fulfilling
prophecy.
There
was always a high probability that the Palestinians would eventually use the
predictable collapse of the talks as an excuse for more violence and renewal of
their lawfare against Israel in international forums. Now they have John Kerry's
seal of approval for doing so.
Kerry is effectively telling the Palestinians that they should make sure the talks fail, and then Israel will be forced to give in." D.M.W.
Kerry is effectively telling the Palestinians that they should make sure the talks fail, and then Israel will be forced to give in." D.M.W.
Dear friends,
Yesterday Secretary John Kerry gave a lengthy
interview to Israel's channel 2 TV.
Those of us who knew all along about Kerry's anti-Israel
pro-Palestinian sentiments, got their glaring proof last night. If
there was ever even a tiny chance that the "negotiations" would lead
anywhere, Kerry, stupidly or intentionally, demolished that chance.
His assertions that the "settlements" are illegitimate and must
be removed, and that failure of the negotiations would bring about a third
"Intifadah" and further isolation of Israel internationally, paved the way for
the "Palestinians" to do just that - fail the negotiations. Now they know
that they do not need to compromise because they can count on America
to pressure Israel and do the job for them.
It is high time, at least as long as Obama resides in the
White House, for Israel to quickly make overtures to potential
alternative allies such as India, China and Russia, while also mounting a huge
campaign on Capitol Hill.
It is also the time for Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu to
prove he has the cojones to brace himself against the coming
pressure. This
morning he proved he can do it.
Luckily, Avigdor Lieberman is back at his right side (pun
intended), as are some other members of his government, notably Defense
Minister Moshe
Yaalon.
American Jews continue to ignore the writing (in
BOLD) on the wall, just as German Jews failed to see it
after Kristallnacht,
the 75th Anniversary of which falls ironically today (see attached), as
Kerry travels to Geneva to capitulate to the Iranians. Twice American
Jews voted into office the most anti-Israel President in American history
and will probably do so again in future. As for German Jews in
1938, Kristallnacht was not enough for them to run packing. They
continued to ignore until it was too late...
There is no doubt in my mind that Israel will weather the coming
storm, but hard times are looming ahead. The main reason? Failure of Israel
to annex last year at least areas B and C in Judea and Samaria and attack
Iran.
Netanyahu's warning this morning that Israel
is not bound by any agreement with Iran is proof that he is
prepared to stand firm against Kerry's onslaught. Time will tell.
Your Truth Provider,
Yuval.
KERRY'S ANTAGONISM
UNMASKED
David M.
Weinberg
Until
Until this week, most Israelis thought of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry as
a naive nice guy. His ardent enthusiasm for basically impossible peace talks
with the Palestinians was viewed as stop-gap diplomacy, at best; a fool's
errand, at worst.But Thursday night, in his joint television interview to Israeli and Palestinian television, we "discovered" a different Kerry: nasty, threatening, one-sided, blind to the malfeasance and unreliability of Palestinian leaders, and dangerously oblique to the explosive situation he himself is creating.
Channeling the Palestinian line, Kerry showed no appreciation whatsoever for Israel's positions and concerns (aside from the usual throw-away vague protestations of concern for Israel's "security").
His warnings about the coming isolation of Israel and of a third intifada unless Israel quickly allows the emergence of a "whole Palestine" and ends it "perpetual military occupation" of Judea and Samaria amount to unfriendly pressure. Worse still, Kerry is trading treacherously in ugly self-fulfilling prophecy.
There was always a high probability that the Palestinians would eventually use the predictable collapse of the talks as an excuse for more violence and renewal of their lawfare against Israel in international forums. Now they have John Kerry's seal of approval for doing so.
Kerry has basically laid out the Obama administration's understanding (dare I say, acceptance) of the campaign to delegitimize and isolate Israel -- unless Israel succumbs to Palestinian and international dictates for almost complete Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Kerry is effectively telling the Palestinians that they should make sure the talks fail, and then Israel will be forced to give in.
So now the Palestinians know clearly what to do. They don't really want a circumscribed, hemmed-in, mini-state of the like that Israel could agree too. They have never wanted the "sovereign cage" of a Palestinian state that Israel can contemplate (as Ahmad Khalidi and Saeb Erekat have categorized the generous Barak and Olmert proposals). What they have always wanted is "runaway" statehood, and the total delegitimization of Israel, alongside an ongoing campaign to swamp Israel demographically and overwhelm Israel diplomatically.
Strategically then, there is no good reason for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to agree to any negotiated accord with Israel. An accord will hem in Palestinian ambitions. An accord will grant Israel the legitimacy that Kerry warns we are losing. An accord will grant Israel the legitimacy "to act in order to protect its security needs," as Tzipi Livni keeps on saying.
Obviously then, Abbas knows what to do. By stiffing Israel and holding to his maximalist demands, Abbas pushes Israel into Kerry's punishment corner. He spurs on the isolation of Israel that Mr. Kerry is oh-so-worried-about. He creates ever-greater pressure on Israel to concede ever more to Palestinian ambitions.
In short, Kerry's onslaught last night only encourages Palestinian obduracy, and strips the peace process of any realism.
Over the past 30 years, Israelis have shifted their views tremendously. They've gone from denying the existence of a Palestinian people to recognition of Palestinian peoplehood and national aspirations; and from insisting on exclusive Israeli sovereignty and control of Judea, Samaria and Gaza to acceptance of a demilitarized Palestinian state in these areas. Israel has even withdrawn all-together from Gaza, and allowed a Palestinian government to assume authority over 95 percent of West Bank residents. Israel has made the Palestinian Authority three concrete offers for Palestinian statehood over more than 90 percent of West Bank territory plus Gaza.
Palestinians have made no even remotely comparable moves toward Israel.
What Kerry should be doing is disabusing the Palestinians of the notion that they can fall back on bogus, maximalist demands as their uncompromising bottom line. He should be dialing down Palestinian expectations and bringing Palestinians toward compromise, no less than Israelis. He should be pressing them to close the "peace gap" by accepting the historic ties of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and the legitimacy of Israel's existence in the Middle East as a Jewish state (and that, in principle, includes Judea and Samaria).
He should be calling on them to renounce the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in pre-1967 Israel, and to end their support for and glorification of Palestinian suicide-bombers and missile launchers against Israel's civilian population, and to end the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel warlike propaganda that fills the Palestinian airwaves.
Kerry should make clear to the Palestinians that if they don't compromise with Israel, the world will stand by Israel, will not isolate Israel, and will not tolerate Palestinian violence against Israel.
Instead, Kerry chose to launch a full-bore attack on Netanyahu and on all Israelis who (in Kerry's words) pig-headedly "feel safe today" and "feel they're doing pretty well economically." He laid out the consequences for Israel of disobeying America (no safety and no prosperity). He laid out no similar consequences for the Palestinians if they remain intransigent.
So much for the notion of honest broker.
No comments:
Post a Comment