Palestinians drive a hard bargain on Jerusalem
by Stephen Pollard
OPINION – Rather than merely criticizing Israeli policy, there is now an undercurrent in some places that Israel itself is the problem, a theme which has been adopted by some left-liberals who argue that in the modern world, a state based on ethnicity is illegitimate.
This is not just words; it has a real impact. Take the stalled negotiations with the Palestinians (which remain on hold although Mr. Netanyahu did say at last week’s Herzliya Conference that he hopes for talks to be renewed “in coming weeks”).
In theory, the stumbling block is the Palestinian Authority’s demand that the Israelis freeze building in “occupied” east Jerusalem as a pre-condition for talks. PM Netanyahu’s announcement last year of a 10-month settlement freeze is not enough for them, and the world asks why Israel cannot just show good faith and accede to the Jerusalem demand.
But there’s something else going on here. For 16 years since Oslo, the Palestinians were prepared to negotiate while settlements were being built.
Now that there is a freeze, they won’t talk. As Israel softens its position, the Palestinians harden theirs and make a demand on east Jerusalem to which not even the most peacenik politician would accede in advance of talks.
This is not a stumbling block; it is the whole point. As a senior Israeli official put it to me, the Palestinians do not want negotiations, they want to get the pressure off them to return to talks without returning to talks, so they have demanded as a pre-condition something they know cannot be met by Israel.
Why don’t they want to negotiate? Because rather than bilateral or even multi-lateral talks involving a grand bargain with Syria and the Arab states brokered by the US, the Palestinians want to proceed through forums such as the UN and EU, where they have knee-jerk support, and where the very question of Israel’s legitimacy as a nation is being raised.
Everything connects.
Courtesy of the Jewish Chronicle.
Listings for hotels in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. No booking fee.