Mideast Monday
Palestinians Need To Negotiate With Netanyahu
The Palestinian Authority is up in arms over Prime Minister Netanyahu's pledge over the weekend to hold on to West Bank territory essentially forever. Speaking at a West Bank settlement, Netanyahu said, "Our message is clear. We are planting here, we will stay here, we will build here. This place will be an inseparable part of the State of Israel for eternity."
Actually, Netanyahu's statement was right-wing boilerplate, especially because it was uttered at a settlement that most Israelis (and the Palestinian leadership) have conceded would remain in Israel after any peace agreement anyway.
Nonetheless, spokesmen for the Palestinian Authority seized on it as yet another justification for not negotiating with Israel. Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Netanyahu's comments erode "any foundation of hope for the two-state solution." Balderdash!
It is difficult to understand what the Palestinian Authority thinks it achieves by its refusal to engage with Netanyahu -- other than to please and delight Netanyahu.
He does not want to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority because he fears, perhaps correctly, that if the diplomatic process begins, the United States will put pressure on him to come to terms. (It can't put pressure on the Palestinians who, after all, have nothing to give up.)
Why are the Palestinians falling into this trap?
Following last week's debacle in Massachusetts, the administration would welcome a Middle East breakthrough. It might even authorize Special Envoy Mitchell to put pressure on Netanyahu. But that won't happen unless negotiations begin. The last thing the PA should be doing is allowing Netanyahu to put the onus on Palestinians for the dead-in-the-water diplomatic process. Yes, settlements should stop. But the longer the stalemate continues, the more settlers there are. While the PA is standing on ceremony, it is losing East Jerusalem to Israeli zealots block by block.
Enough already. Start talking.
What Is Wrong With Shimon Peres?
Writing in Ha'aretz, Akiva Eldar calls out Israeli President Shimon Peres for being Netanyahu's chief enabler.
The old dove is unrecognizable these days. He is continually threatening the Palestinians, praising Netanyahu's boldness in the pursuit of peace, and blasting Justice Richard Goldstone for having the temerity to label Israel's actions in Gaza "war crimes."
"Instead of....courageously facing the Israeli public and warning them against continuing the occupation and the dangers facing Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state, the president is passing the responsibility for the failure in the peace process on to the Palestinians and preparing the 'public relations' campaign for the next round of violence. Indeed, Peres is one of a kind," Eldar writes.
It is clear Peres never heard the adage about not allowing your old age to disgrace your youth. But he is a type we Americans can recognize. The only thing he cares about is holding on to power. And for him, holding office is the sole point of holding office which makes him no different that many (most?) of our politicians.
Israel, Haiti and Gaza
The media has provided considerable coverage to the excellent work Israeli teams are doing in Haiti. Decades of experience with war and terrorism has provided Israel with experience in dealing with disaster, natural or man-made.
Israelis are rightly proud of their work in Haiti. But some in the Israeli media are saying "wait a minute. It's wonderful that we are helping Haiti but look at what we did, and continue to do, in Gaza."
Larry Derfner, a Jerusalem Post columnist, writes that Israel's efforts in Haiti are a "a reflection of the national character. But so is everything that's summed up in the name 'Gaza.' It's the Haiti side of Israel that makes the Gaza side so inexpressibly tragic. And more and more, the Haiti part of the national character has been dwarfed by the Gaza part."
Derfner continues, "Gaza, too, is a matter of life and death - not just for the people who were trapped in the rubble there not long ago, but for Israel. When will this big-hearted nation stop being heartless to the people in Gaza?"
Naturally, American neocons are outraged by this Israeli soul-searching. David Harris, veteran leader of the American Jewish Committee calls it "nuts." He says that Israelis have crossed over from "self-reflection to self-destruction" which, if you think about it, itself sounds nuts.
But Harris, like his colleagues in the status quo lobby, believe that if you can't say something good about Israel, just shut up. In this case, he goes farther. If you say something good about Israel but couple it with constructive criticism, you should still shut up.
I'm glad some Israelis, I'd say most of them, understand that Israel is not perfect and is as legitimate a target of criticism as, say, the United States or Japan. It's kind of pathetic that the leaders of the status quo lobby either don't understand that or, more likely, pretend they don't because it is their job not to.
Obama Resisting Warhawks on Iran
Perusing the Israeli media, it is pretty clear that the Iran hawks are heartened by the setback Preident Obama suffered in Massachusetts.
But, as is demonstrated in this column by Jerusalem-based expat Barry Rubin, the hawks are still upset because it is even less likely that a politically vulnerable Obama will go to war with Iran (or allow Israel to attack) than an invulnerable President. After all, the last thing Obama needs is another war.
To his credit, Obama continues to resist the pressure from the lobby and from certain powerful figures within his Middle East team to abandon all hope for negotiations with Iran and to instead go with sanctions as a prelude to war. That is not going to happen under Obama, which is one more reason the neocons want to see his presidency fail in order to get a second neocon presidency in 2013.
Meanwhile, AIPAC is holding its huge confab in Washington in March. Washingtonians can expect to hear the drums pounding throughout the capital.
