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Source: https://jcpa.org/willful-blindness-and-colonial-arrogance/
Willful Blindness and Colonial Arrogance
(Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - Recent declarations by the UK, Australia, and Canada to recognize a Palestinian state reflect a mixture of willful ignorance, historical amnesia, and political arrogance. What these countries fail to accept is that the Arabs do not want a "two-state solution" and never have, failing to take into account the repeated Arab rejection of the idea. For over 100 years, the Arabs have been consistent in their rejection of the very existence of a Jewish state. Recognizing the non-existent "State of Palestine" is not going to change their position. Instead, such recognition will correctly be perceived, predominantly by the Palestinians, not only as a reward for the Oct. 7 massacre, but also as a prize for their constant rejection of any negotiated solution. Such recognition emboldens the rejectionist Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). One of the foundational themes of the announcements was the acceptance of the commitments of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to hold democratic elections. The last Palestinian elections in 2006 ended with a landslide victory for Hamas. Almost every Palestinian poll conducted since then shows that Hamas would win again. Moreover, while Hamas already enjoyed popular Palestinian support, the fact that the recognition was given by the British, Canadians, Australians, and others as a direct result of the Oct. 7 massacre only increases Hamas's popularity. The more Jews they murder, the greater the diplomatic reward. The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center.