Israel’s wayward leadership is trying to cleverly minimize the damage done to their nation at the upcoming US-hosted peace summit in Annapolis by insisting that the faltering Middle East peace process remain tied to the Washington-backed Road Map peace plan.
The reason for hoisting the Road Map as the standard for peacemaking is that the plan is a performance-based one that if accurately followed would require the Palestinians to finally provide Israel with the peace, security and rest from aggression it has so long sought. Failure on the Palestinians’ part to do so is supposed to negate Israel’s obligation to turn over any additional territory.
So what do the Palestinians do? They naturally launch a campaign to convince the Bush Administration and other world leaders that they have already fulfilled all their obligations under the first phase of the Road Map, and are now awaiting Israel’s reciprocation. It is a laughable claim, but unfortunately for Israel it is probably enough to outflank Jerusalem’s diplomatic position since Washington and the world have never been much for fact-checking when it comes to Palestinian assertions, regardless of how wild they may be. The very fact that we are talking about a people group known as the “Palestinians” at all is evidence of that.
So what does Phase One of the US-authored Road Map demand of the Palestinians?
To put it simply, the Road Map demands that the Palestinian leadership explicitly recognize Israel’s right to exist in this region, renounce and combat the use of terrorist violence against Israelis, and put an end to incitement against Israel and the Jews in the Palestinian media and school system.
I doubt it is necessary to expound upon how these commitments have been anything but fulfilled by the Palestinian Authority. Suffice it to say that Palestinian leaders (when speaking in Arabic) continue to employ language that provides hope of one day eradicating Jewish sovereignty, successful and attempted attacks on Israelis continue unabated, and Palestinian children are still being taught by their teachers and favorite television characters to loathe the Jews and seek “martyrdom” while fighting them.
Tens minutes on the Internet making elementary use of Google is sufficient to punch numerous holes in the latest Palestinian diplomatic position. The question is whether Washington will champion truth and justice, or if it will put perceived American interests in the Middle East ahead of Israeli lives and again sell the Jewish state down the river.
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