Rewarding bad behavior
Op-ed: Palestinians enjoy world’s support despite failing to offer even one concession for peace
By and large, people correctly differentiate between reasonable and unreasonable, moral and immoral, good and evil. However, in today’s “politically correct” world a most glaring exception is the Arab-Israeli conflict. In this arena, these standards have been reversed.
What’s decidedly troubling is that the world appears to be quite comfortable with these reverse standards, with no indication that it is moderating its view; in fact, the opposite is true.
The most notable example is the concessions that have been made throughout the conflict. Not the concessions themselves, but rather, those who made them. Virtually 100% of them have been made by Israel. Yet in spite this glaring imbalance, the Arabs remain unsatisfied and demand more, while the West – currently led by President Obama - continues to support them.
The one-sided list of concessions dates back to the beginning of the modern conflict. For example, the Jews were promised a “national homeland” on 43,000 square miles of land in the 1922 British Mandate for Palestine. After 76% of the land was given away to form Transjordan (today’s Jordan) the UN decided to partition the remaining 24% into two sovereign states, one Arab and one Jewish. This left the Jews with a mere 12% of their originally “promised land.” They agreed to the concession. And what did the Arabs do? They rejected the UN vote and attacked Israel the day after its inception.
Since then, there have been wars, conflicts and Intifadas in 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 1987, 2000, 2006 and 2008/09. Organizations such as the PLO, PLFP, Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and others have been formed, all refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Moreover, each group has a charter that calls for Israel’s elimination.
In spite of huge land concessions offered by Prime Ministers Barak and Olmert (both were willing to concede more than 90% of land demanded by the Arabs,) the offers were deemed unsatisfactory. Netanyahu went even further when he accepted the existence of a “Palestinian” state, arguably the greatest concession ever made by an Israeli PM. In turn, he requested that the Arabs recognize Israel’s right to exist, as a Jewish state. The response from the Arabs was a loud “no!” Abbas’ very words were “I do not accept it.”
Gaza exit brings rockets
Another bold concession made by Israel was its 2005 unilateral withdrawal from a 38-year presence in the Gaza Strip. Did this facilitate peace? On the contrary, the reward for this concession was thousands of rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli citizens, eventually prompting the IDF to embark on Operation Cast Lead. The recent escalation of rocket attacks from Gaza indicates that Hamas remains undeterred in its efforts to kill Jews and destroy Israel.
Other notable concessions made by Israel include a 10-month freeze on settlement construction, which was extended. Throughout this period, invitations were made for the Arabs to return to the negotiating table. Yet Abbas insisted that 100% of his demands be met before he returns to the table. This tactic renders the term “negotiate” meaningless.
Additionally, Israel eliminated hundreds of checkpoints, relaxed intense security operations in the territories, and accepted the US role of providing weapons and training to the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. The list of concessions by Israel is long, yet what did it get in return? Not only is there no peace, the Arabs aren’t even willing to sit face to face with Israel and negotiate.
As to Arab concessions, there are none. Not only have the Arabs provided no concessions, President Obama and the West are acting as their proxies, criticizing Israel for not making “bold concessions for peace.” Yet do the Arabs bear any responsibility for their absence of concessions for peace? Have they negotiated in good faith? Did they say they will accept Israel’s right to exist? Are they willing to recognize Israel as Jewish state (with its 20% Arab population)? Have any of their organizations altered charters calling for the destruction of Israel?
At this time, the Arabs are attempting to gain support for a unilateral declaration of statehood in the heartland of Israel that will have “no room for a single Jew“ according to Abbas. A small but growing number of countries have indicated they favor such a declaration, with the UN scheduled to discuss the issue in September.
Bluntly put, the Arabs have not made one single concession to facilitate peace. Why should Israel continue offering concessions and why do the “Palestinian” Arabs deserve a state when they have demonstrated arrogant intolerance of Israel’s very existence? The time has come for Israel and the world to stop rewarding bad behavior. It only emboldens the Arabs to continue on the same path, which will end only with Israel’s demise.
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
