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Returning the Palestinians to Center Stage Undermines Stability in the Middle East

(Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security) Col. (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni and Dr. Kobi Michael - Two former American diplomats, writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 29, called on President Biden to take measures against the incoming Netanyahu government and called on him to warn the four Abraham Accords countries that if they do not return the Palestinian issue to the agenda, the U.S. will take action against them. The writers were so worried about the inability of the people in Israel to take care of their state's future that they felt compelled to act to save the Jewish state despite itself. Beyond the arrogance of their approach, it amounts to a blatant violation of avoiding interference in the internal affairs of a foreign country - one that is also an ally - and a rejection of the results of a democratic process (the only one that exists in the entire Middle East). Despite the collapse of the paradigm that claimed the solution to the Palestinian problem is the key for Arab states normalizing relations with Israel, the writers nevertheless insist on resurrecting the failed paradigm that for generations gave the Palestinians veto power over any progress on normalization with the Arab world. The writers' obsession with the Palestinian issue is strange because they ignore the decline of the power of the Palestinian Authority and the widespread rot in Palestinian politics. They do not understand the depth of Palestinian society's crisis and the PA's inability to contribute to stability in the region. Col. (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni was director of the military and strategic affairs program and the cyber research program at the Institute for National Security Studies (2006-2020), where Dr. Kobi Michael is a senior researcher.
2022-12-22 00:00:00
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