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Palestinians Are Increasingly Isolated

(Telegraph-UK) Mark Almond - Time and again, the Palestinians have looked to the outside world to uphold their cause. In 1948, and again in 1967 and 1973, they hoped the armies of the Arab states would rescue them and topple Israel. It never happened. After decades of being one of the few issues Arabs across the Middle East could agree on, the Palestinians' plight has lost its emotional appeal. Time has left them trapped stateless while Arab rulers have quietly come to terms with Israel's existence. The aging Palestinian leadership has been woefully slow to understand the implications of the realpolitik going on around them. Israel made concessions. Most dramatically, in 2005, Israel withdrew from Gaza, taking its settlers out against their will. Hamas then used Gaza as a launching pad for repeated missile attacks on Israel. As the big powers jostle for influence across the Middle East, their eyes are focused on places like Iraq, Syria and Libya, not the West Bank. Saudi Arabia and the UAE used to subsidize the Palestinians generously, but their funding has shrunk. The EU too is not anxious to pick up any slack. Now without powerful friends, with violence a dead end, the Palestinians should swallow their pride. Otherwise they will have chosen to be left with nothing to be proud about.
2020-01-31 00:00:00
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