generalspeaking

Universal Morals

What's in a peace treaty? A reciprocal agreement, of course. Peace is not made unilaterally. Hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been trying for a year to impress upon moderate Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table, to direct talks in an effort to achieve a final and lasting peace. At that negotiating table, all matters relating to the final disposition of side-by-side states would be agreed upon, with each side having to make concessions to achieve that final solution.

There is just something about spokespeople, those in authority, those who profess to have the best interests of the Palestinians at heart, that forestalls their finally agreeing to a cessation of hostilities. They are, quite simply, wedded to hostilities; to their grievances, to their victimhood, to their 'right' to 'resist' the 'occupation'. An 'occupation' that is there, on territory that Israel has no wish to be forced to control, but must lest it erupt again into mass deadly violence against the state and its people.

And now, thanks to an irate U.S., angered that Israel sees little value in 'proximity' talks when direct talks have so long failed to reach any consensus, its loud and angry censure of Israel for 'insulting' Vice-President Biden by the occurrence of a minor, routine announcement on building in Jerusalem, has placed fresh fuel on the embittered, hostile grievance of the victims, resulting in little intifadas popping up in expression of righteous, riotous fury by the Palestinians.

Exultant that their nemesis has received a back-of-the-hand admonishment from their great ally. Israel, in the occasionally-jaundiced view of the United States, eager to ingratiate itself with the Muslim world, represents the laggard in the proceedings. It was not Israel that had to be dragged, kicking and screaming to the bargaining table, it was the Palestinians who were finally prevailed upon to grudgingly agree to proximity talks.

As the world sees it, Israel, as the epitome of morality, democracy, egalitarianism, and justice must make the sacrifices, all the sacrifices, for there is no cost too painful to achieve a two-state solution. And as the world sees it, the Palestinian Authority, representing the Palestinian people and the aspirations on their behalf of the Muslim world, of whom nothing can be expected as they represent the reincarnation of the village idiot, is not required to make any meaningful surrender to peace.

Not even recognize the legitimacy and the reality of the existence of Israel as a Jewish state; an expression they adamantly refuse to acknowledge, as it would be an admission that Israel as a Jewish state has a right to exist. Knowing full well that their demands of 'right of return' would be hampered were they to do so. Yet what they plan is to diminish the Jewish presence quite effectively, insisting on the right of return; returning the geography to its former state.

So the Middle East Quartet: United Nations, United States, European Union, and Russia have condemned Israel, on the principle that the stated continuation of building in Jewish-administered Jerusalem will proceed - represents an egregious provocation, an incitement to violence, and indication that Israel is not sincerely prepared to agree to peace and a Palestinian State. Middle East Quartet Envoy former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks as an authority on the matter.

And speaking of authority and morality, the London Daily Telegraph has revealed along with the London Daily Mail that Mr. Blair has embellished his credentials as a Middle East expert in unexpected ways. An extremely lucrative agreement with a multinational oil giant with interests in Iraq where Mr. Blair is an advisor to the South Korean UI Energy through which he has made roughly 20-million pounds. Oh, and a separate 1-million pound sterling deal with Kuwait, on its oil future.

These are the clean hands that have the respect of UN chief Ban Ki-Moon. And in travelling to Gaza, and in meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ban Ki-Moon insisted the Israeli Prime Minister call a halt to all settlement expansion. Chastising Israel for behaving as though it had legal access to the whole of Jerusalem. To allow indirect peace talks to take place, for of course, Mahmoud Abbas will not take part in any talks until and unless all construction is halted.

"We believe that these proximity talks should eventually lead to direct negotiations between the two concerned parties to discuss all other matters: security, water, refugees and other issues." Vague enough, but sufficiently pointed. Previous direct talks, however, achieved nothing. The Palestinians, in the end, refuse everything. They refused the UN-mandated Partition of Palestine in 1947 and have refused all peace initiatives since then.

When Ehud Barak was prepared to give Yasser Arafat just about everything he demanded for the Palestinians at Camp David in 2000, Arafat pulled back, unexpectedly. When former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered just as much and even more in 2008, Arafat's successor again turned down what might have become a lasting peace, giving Palestinians much of what they demanded. Israel is prepared to live in peace with the Palestinians, but then they always have been.

The Palestinians, and the Palestinian Authority that continues to urge its people to violent reaction to the Israeli presence, continue as they always have, from 1947 to the present. Their pathology of violence has long overtaken any good common sense they might once have been invested with. In swearing allegiance to Palestinian defiance of the Jewish presence on land they still claim as theirs, they remain committed to violence, eschewing peace.

The world is disinterested in the reality of the situation. They just want it all to go away. The Israeli state, being reasonable, is badgered and censured into being ever more 'reasonable'. The Palestinian Authority, recognized implicitly as being aggrieved and ill-done-by, unfortunate victims of circumstance they wanted nothing to do with, are forgiven their quaint clinging to tribal revenge techniques, their tactical lies and pretense.

Which is why the Palestinian Authority is able to commemorate the blissful martyrdom of a mass murderer who led a terrorist squad to remorselessly kill innocent people who just happened to be on a beach taking photographs, in a taxi, in passing cars, riding on buses. This Palestinian martyr to the cause has been remembered with a computer centre, two girls' high schools, two summer camps, a soccer championship, and finally a square, named after her.

Not a murmur from the international community at these questionable values. But Israel, building needed housing for its citizens in their ancient city of Jerusalem, whose municipal control is under Israeli authority - not recognized by the international community - has sinned unforgivably. Now that is unforgivable.

Labels: European Union, Israel, Middle East, United Nations, United States

posted by Pieface @ Sunday, March 21, 2010