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The Palestinians Have Not Moved an Inch

(Ynet News) Yechiel Shabi - Last week, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's secret offer to establish a temporary Palestinian state on about 60% of the West Bank. According to Netanyahu's pragmatic plan, the talks on final-status issues would continue after the temporary state was formed. Abbas argued that this was an attempt to drag him into lengthy negotiations that would reinforce the temporary state's borders and turn them into final-status borders. What prevents the Palestinians from deciding that half a loaf is better than none? Why does Abbas insist on discussing all the issues that may thwart the talks all at once - Jerusalem, borders, refugees, settlements, and territorial contiguity? Why doesn't he choose to be the first president in history of the first Palestinian state, regardless of how small it is? One reason is that the Palestinians have not yet renounced their plan to establish "Greater Palestine." Secondly, they feel that Western public opinion and Western governments support them to a greater extent than ever before. While Israel, under Netanyahu, adopted several steps - endorsing the two-state discourse, removing roadblocks, freezing settlement construction, and imposing a de facto freeze in east Jerusalem - the Palestinians have not moved an inch. The writer is a spokesman for Israel's Ministry of Communications.
2010-05-07 08:22:02
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