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Judge Palestinians By the Same Standard as the Israelis

(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - Why don't foreign critics judge Palestinian and Israeli negotiators by the same standard? Netanyahu has never closed the door to negotiations in any of his previous terms in office. The Palestinians blew up the talks last year when Fatah signed a unity pact with Hamas and decided to pursue recognition at the UN in an end run around the peace process. Tzipi Livni, who led the Israeli delegation at the talks, though a bitter critic and rival of Netanyahu, confessed that it was not the prime minister who torpedoed Secretary of State Kerry's initiative. Rather, she said, it was Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. That's a key point that Israel-bashers consistently forget. Israel has already offered the Palestinians statehood and almost all of the territory they demanded three times between 2000 and 2008. Were they to come to the talks prepared to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders would be drawn, they would find that no Israeli government would be able to resist taking them up on a two-state solution. It's time for the international community to start holding the Palestinians accountable. Until they do, they'll never have an incentive to start talking in good faith.
2015-05-22 00:00:00
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