Like these:
...Most perverse has been the attempt by the unity agreement's Western backers to conflate it with the democratic movements sweeping the Arab world. As soon as rumor of the agreement broke, the Guardian editorialized that, "The Arab spring has finally had an impact on the core issue of the region, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Carter deemed the agreement the "Palestinian contribution to the "Arab awakening.'" Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Al Jazeera Forum, Levy told an interviewer that, "Islamists are going to be part of this democratic tapestry. Deal with it. Put aside your prejudices."
Note that these are the very same people who consider Israel-supporting evangelical Christians apocalyptic extremists, yet applaud the empowerment and legitimization of actual, not imagined, religious fascists.
Hamas is everything that self-professed liberals should be "prejudiced" toward: obscurantist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, warlike and rejectionist. It calls for the death of homosexuals and bans dancing. Its charter beckons Muslims to hunt down Jews from "behind rocks and trees," claims that Muslims "have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad" and, in a prescient use of the rhetoric that has since united the radical Western left and the reactionary Islamic right, accused Jews of "Nazism." It picks fights with Israel that result in the needless deaths of Palestinian civilians. It could end the blockade in Gaza tomorrow if it wanted to, simply by laying down arms, renouncing terrorism and accepting Israel's right to exist - but no amount of Palestinian suffering will ever cause it to do so.
Those words were written by James Kirchick, a contributing editor to The New Republic, in, of all places, Haaretz.
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4 comments:
1. This move will abrogate the Oslo Accords and the Road Map. Israel will have full access to remedies that result from a breach of these agreements.
2. This is simple Arab rejectionism. Rather than making the difficult compromises that a negotiation will require, the Pals are seeking to circumvent it. Why is Europe rewarding such a strategy.
3. Unilateral moves by the Pals will undoubtedly lead to unilateral moves by Israel (e.g. annexing all territory w/i the security barrier as well as the Jordan valley). Is that what Europe wants?
4. Such unilateralism is likely to lead to more violence rather than peace. Are European officials seriously interested in enabling another war here?
5. Such moves could spur other efforts by separatist movements: Basques, in Belgium, the stans in Russia, Kurds, etc... All you need is some terrorism, refuse to negotiate, and bingo -- rewards from the int'l community.
It's not just Israel. The EU is part of the Quartet that proposed the Roadmap. The Pals are basically giving the EU the finger.
And I think you can play up the European taxpayer angle. Why are EU taxpayers heavily subsidizing the PA to engage in unilateral moves in violation of Euro policy? The EU is in a major economic crisis. Is this how its $$ should be spent?
And future instability in the PA (which will greatly increase if the PA moves forward w/its Sept plan) will mean more Euro taxpayer $$ needed to clean up the mess.
Europe may become a Pal. playground for terror - again.
Quite worthwhile info, much thanks for the post.
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