Rivlin of Israel meeting with EU
Jack Cohen – Facing the realities in the Middle East
What does this tell you, both Pres. Rivlin of Israel and Pres. Abbas of the PA were in Brussels, but Abbas refused to meet with Rivlin? Before going on his trip abroad Abbas gave a speech to the EU Parliament in which he raised an age old anti-Semitic trope, namely that Israel was poisoning the wells of Palestinians, based supposedly on a statement by a Rabbi. But, later Abbas apologized for his comments and news media could identify no Rabbi or organization that made any such statement, it was as usual a lie. These attitudes represent the true face of Palestinian rejectionism. The leader of the Palestinians cannot even bring himself to meet with the Pres. of Israel and cannot say a good word about Israel. Is this someone who wants to make peace with Israel?
Note that Abbas is afraid to do or say anything in relation to real peace with Israel. Why? He is no longer a legitimate President, having avoided elections due since 2009, but also he is very unpopular, due to the corruption of his Fatah Government, and he is afraid to move at all because he fears assassination from Hamas and anyone of a number of Islamist organizations, including IS, al Qaeda and the al Nusra front in Syria. Seen in this light, the current French-based conference to promote ME Peace (read Israel-Palestine peace) is not only futile, but actually ridiculous.
The situation in the Middle East as a whole, including the incredible breakdown of Arab society in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, resulting in civil wars based on sectarian divides, puts the lie to the oft-repeated Palestinian propaganda that the Israel-Palestine conflict is basic to the peace of the Middle East and the world, repeated by such experts as Pres. Obama. What nonsense! The Palestine conflict in in fact a small and very insignificant conflict on the periphery of the greater cataclysm that is roiling the whole Arab world.
This is borne out by the fact that it has been publicly announced that Israel is having discussions with Saudi Arabia and Egypt over the situation and that these Sunni States clearly fear both Shia Iran and the Sunni terrorists of IS more than they fear any threat from Israel. Due partly to the retraction of American power from the Middle East under Pres. Obama, the need for a steady, stable, powerful pro-Western force is clear, and that is seemingly becoming Israel.
But, in exchange for its support and potential military involvement, Israel will extract a price, and that should be a negotiation based on the Arab/Saudi Peace Plan, but modified to accommodate Israel’s needs, namely a removal of the “right of return” of all Palestinian so-called refugees, and a border agreement that includes Israeli incorporation of those densely populated Jewish areas of the so-called West Bank. Is this possible? Only the dire extant circumstances can in effect force the Saudis and the Egyptians to face these decisions.
