I wrote the other day about Hillary’s statement that the Palestinian Arabs “deserve” a state — which led to my piece about why such a state is not a good idea.
Now I share with you a Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs paper by Dan Diker regarding Abbas’s intentions to declare a state to the ’67 lines unilaterally:
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I’ve already been in touch with several Arabic-speaking analysts who concur that this is the way things are headed. What is more, there is feeling in several quarters that Obama is actually on board for this. The statement by Hillary leads us in this direction, and, as one analyst pointed out, Abbas would not pursue this had he not gotten the word that he would have US backing ultimately. Of considerable concern, as well, is the concerted effort to delegitimize Israel within the international community — a part of Abbas’s overall plan.
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This comes now simply to provide this basic information, which I address with utmost seriousness. There will be times when my postings are brief, or when days go by without postings, because I’ll be doing other writing or research. But I will keep my readers informed.
Ultimately what matters is hard work to convince various decision-makers that — not only is formation of a Palestinian Arab state not a good idea — backing for such a state would lead to a disaster that makes supporters look very foolish: they would have contributed to a worsening situation in the Middle East. (And, indeed, that would be the case.)
In the US, the focus must be on Congress; communicating with Obama and his advisors or with Hillary is likely pointless, as they have their agenda. They are oblivious to problems that are inherent in what they envision, and it is exceedingly unlikely that grassroots communication will affect their perception or their goals.
In Europe, of course, the address is the EU, or European Commission, actually.
In due course, there will be much more to say about this.
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I will add here in passing that it is possible (just possible) that this figures into Netanyahu’s current stance, with his maddening eagerness to come to the table. I’m getting mixed opinions on this at present. He may be working overtime to show the world that unilateralism is not the way to go, as other options are possible. Whether this is the most productive approach is debated, and depends in part on what goes on behind the scenes.
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