Kissing Oslo Accords Good-bye

Nadene Goldfoot

Salam Fayyad, unelected Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, just announced on Wednesday on his radio show that the PA will no longer be following the Oslo Accords that they signed in 1993. He said they wouldn't be a prisoner to their restrictions any longer. I wonder if he's also put this in writing.

The Oslo Accords were said by Feisal Husseini to be a Trojan horse designed to deceive Israel. So obviously this must mean that since the accords are now broken by the PA, Israel can also kiss them goodbye.

It could also mean that Israel could now annex the Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria and create my new idea of calling the PA's area "Israel's Commonwealth," just like Puerto Rico is to the USA.

On the other hand, "Abbas said that despite the crisis in the peace talks with Israel, the Palestinians remained committed to a political solution on the basis of the road map and the Arab peace initiative, which he described as a “precious gift” to peace in the Middle East. Abbas plans to go to talk to Hosni Mubarak in Cairo tomorrow and discuss the situation. He said that as a last resort, he would ask Israel to take over.

"In exchange for statehood, the road map requires the Palestinian Authority to make democratic reforms and abandon the use of violence. Israel, for its part, must support and accept the emergence of a reformed Palestinian government and end settlement activity of the Gaza Strip and West Bank as the Palestinian terrorist threat is removed." They have not complied in reforming their educational goals in their hatred of Jews as shown in their textbooks. Their maps refuse to show Israel and instead just show Palestine. That would be under democratic reforms and using violence. They have had outbursts of violent acts of course, coming from their teachings and attitudes. Hamas broke off with Fatah in June 2007, so there is no reason for Israel to abide by the accords being they are constantly attacked. The Palestinians themselves are a divided group intent on different goals, at least on the surface. I do believe that Fatah differs only in that they are trying to achieve the same goal by diplomacy instead of so much bloodshed.

"Palestine" was to be all the land east of the 1949 armistice according to Palestinians. "The territory in question is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, along with up to 1.5 million Arabs, and includes historically Jewish towns as well as the Temple Mount, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and Rachel's Tomb, Judaism's first, second, and third most holy sites respectively".

Resource: http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/ Palestinians Say They Are No Longer Bound By The Oslo Accords Daily News.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=198572

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_map_for_peace

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/world/africa/15iht-mideast.5.6163185.html

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141037

A Palestine? After These 6 Things come to Fruition

from Dr. Mitchell Bard

I was asked what I thought of Mitchell, the foreign Minister and Netanyahu's responses about not going for another state next to Israel called Palestine right now, and find I am in full agreement with Dr. Mitchell Bard's ideas below. I fell quite sure that Benjamin Netanyahu would be, too. I'm just surprised that our USA has never seen the light of this before. But then they were dealing with Olmert.

Britannica Blog: Shock Therapy for the MideastBy Mitchell Bard

For the last 40 years, Middle East peace efforts have focused on coercing Israel to make concessions. This one-sided approach is based on the belief that the United States only has leverage over Israel, that UN resolutions obligate Israel to withdraw from territory and that relations with the Arab world depend on satisfying their demands. If President Obama wants to change the 60 year record of failed diplomacy, he must jettison this approach and apply shock therapy by taking steps to disabuse the Palestinians of many of the illusions that prevent them from reaching an agreement with Israel.

1) Make clear that violence will never lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. No Israeli government will make concessions so long as its citizens are under attack. After ending the "occupation" of Gaza and being bombarded by more than 6,000 missiles Israel cannot be expected to consider territorial concessions unless Obama holds the Palestinians to their road map promise to stop terror and incitement against Israel.

2) State that the future borders of Israel and Palestine must take into account current demographic realities. President Clinton envisioned that the major settlement blocs, where tens of thousands of Israelis reside, would be incorporated into Israel. The Palestinian state could still be contiguous and incorporate 95-97 percent of the West Bank. The Palestinians could also receive additional territory elsewhere in exchange for the 3-5 percent of West Bank territory annexed to Israel.

3) Move the U.S. embassy to West Jerusalem. This is the capital of Israel and will remain so under any conceivable negotiated solution. This step does not preclude negotiations to establish the capital of the Palestinian state in part of Jerusalem, but it would erase Arab fantasies about the permanence of Israel's presence.

4) Insist that the Palestinian Authority reform textbooks. If Israelis and Palestinians are to coexist, the younger generation of Palestinians cannot continue to be taught that Israel does not exist, that Jews have no history in their homeland and that Islam requires them to fight infidels and become martyrs.

5) Support the settlement of Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian state. No Israeli leader will acknowledge a "right of return;" therefore, an international compensation fund should be created to facilitate the resettlement of refugees in the West Bank and Gaza upon the signing of a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement.

6) Condition relations with Arab allies on their support for American peace efforts. President Obama should not continue to lavish aid and arms on states that vote against us more than 90 percent of the time at the UN and undermine our policies. These Arab states should be expected to end the boycott of Israel and take steps toward normalization.These policies may appear unbalanced but they will force Israel to make tough compromises as well. If violence ceases, Israel will have less justification for holding territory. Settlements outside the blocs recognized by the U.S. would probably have to be dismantled and the border of Israel and Palestine would approach the 1949 armistice line. Israel's capital would be recognized, but the predominantly Arab parts of Jerusalem would likely be ceded to the Palestinian state. Thousands of Palestinians would probably be admitted to Israel on a humanitarian basis.

Obama cannot allow fear of Arab disapproval to drive his policy. History has shown that our Arab allies need us much more than we need them. That is why, contrary to conventual State Department wisdom, relations with the Arab states have improved as the U.S.-Israel alliance solidified.The Palestinians will not agree to end the conflict with Israel if they believe terror can force Israel to capitulate, if they think the United States or others will force Israel to dismantle all the West Bank settlements and give up Jerusalem, or if they believe Israel can be forced to recognize a "right of return" for the Palestinian refugees. By taking the suggested steps, President Obama can stimulate both Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate from more realistic positions.

The Palestinians may still choose their historic path of never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity, but they will do so knowing that they are unlikely to find a more sympathetic American leader in the future.

Resource: Dr. Mitchell Bard