Kerry and Abbas Meet Today in Turkey

Here we go one more time. It is not like whatever is decided will be the main theme for restarting the so-called peace process as whatever it is it will end with the same disappointment for the world when Israelis refuse to surrender their entire country to Arab rule. The presumed theme this time is how to energize the Palestinian economy thus making agreements more viable. The problem is that the talks aimed at improving the Palestinian economy will be crafted to carefully avoid one subject, the kleptocracy which has ruled over the Palestinians since the return of Yasser Arafat after the Oslo Accords. Nobody ever mentions the million if not billions of dollars nestled away in European banks in the accounts of Mrs. Arafat. Nobody mentions the others who have benefited monetarily at the expense of the Palestinians. Of course there will be mention of the Israeli withholding tax incomes collected by them presumably for the Palestinians despite their having been released over a month ago when the Palestinian Authority made their desperate plea for more treasure from the entire world to repair their shortfall and inability to meet the payroll. This brings into the argument the fact that the Palestinian government has on its payroll an inordinate percentage of the population and includes many Hamas employees in the Gaza government. But there will be the economy destroying Israeli checkpoints which prevent free traffic of goods. Abbas will turn every discussion into a point of how it is the Israelis who are preventing the Palestinian economy from blossoming. No mention will be made that with Israeli assistance the Palestinians have one of the highest standards of living in the non-oil producing Arab world and that despite any difficulties their GDP has grown faster than the rest as well. Surprisingly to many, the Gazan economy has been even far healthier under Hamas than the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority. This is actually due to the odd fact that Hamas has far less corruption and graft as Hamas is funded largely through fees and taxes upon goods brought through the smuggling tunnels. It almost seems completely lacking in logic to claim that Hamas provides greater economic opportunity through honest government than does the Palestinian Authority seems to be able of providing.

Eventually Secretary of State Kerry will likely decide to agree that the economic difficulties are mostly due to Israeli malevolence and attempt to move on to restarting the peace negotiations. This is where the groundwork of blaming Israel will be utilized by Abbas to claim injury and that he will require a number of steps to be taken by the Israelis in order to prove their honest intentions to act fairly and that they truly seek a real and just peace. Then will Abbas start to list the preconditions which he fully knows will prevent the possibility of any talks ever being recommenced. All the parties to this dance already are familiar with these preconditions and are aware that they are a fairly complete list of every of the final status disagreements demanding full Israeli surrender. A partial list include the 1949 Armistice Lines be used as the basis for the border (also misnamed the 67 border), Palestinian Capital to include all of East Jerusalem including all of the Old City and Temple Mount, the removal of all Jews from Palestinian territories, the release of most if not all Palestinian terrorists and prisoners from Israeli prisons, the submitting a map showing the final borders proposed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the two biggest one which are a complete building freeze in claimed Palestinian lands, and the “Right of Return” for five million plus Palestinian refugees into Israel itself given full rights as citizens. There has also been one more precondition which, like the building freeze came from the mouth of President Obama in his abortive attempts believing Israel needed to be forced to negotiate rather than Abbas and the Palestinians being the ones blocking negotiations, comes from Secretary of State Kerry’s statements to Abbas during their previous meetings that Israel transfer all of Areas B and a large portion if not all of Area C from any Israeli controls over to complete and total Palestinian control. It is very likely that Secretary John Kerry will be a sympathetic captive to Abbas and his claims of Israeli intransigence as Kerry is another believer that it is Israel who has prevented peace talks and that Palestinians are simply more victims of Western, in this case Israeli, aggressive policies and domination. Every accusation Abbas will give as evidence of Israeli acts of aggressions and colonialism will be naively received by Secretary Kerry as confirmations of his preconceived notions fitting the progressive model of Western oppressions and colonialism. Perhaps Secretary Kerry should read some history of the British Mandate period and learn about the formation of Transjordan out of 78% of the Mandate Lands which were to have formed the Jewish State and how Israel has also been one of the main victims of Western colonialism and that the current insanity of attempting to form another Arab state out of the remaining 22% of the British Mandate lands is yet one more colonialist theft of land set aside by the League of Nations and confirmed by the United Nations Charter in Article 80. But often the truth falls secondary to personal preconceived notions.

Beyond the Cusp

Beware of Kerry Offering Peace Process Deals

When United States Secretary of State remained behind after accompanying President Obama on his recent trip to Israel and the Middle East in order to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to feel out both sides on his ideas for restarting the peace process, there were some ideas floated about where Secretary Kerry planned to go and what he was expecting from the two sides in order to gain some reactions and gage the amount of resistance or acceptance the initiatives would encounter. The proposals Secretary Kerry is expecting Israel to adopt were very similar as the usual ploys demanded of Israel, release some thus far undisclosed number of terror prisoners from Israeli custody and allow for restructuring Area B in Judea and Samaria to merge it into Area A giving complete and total control over even more lands to the Palestinian Authority. Unfortunately, Secretary Kerry’s proposals for the Palestinians were also very similar to previous offers, to promise not to seek further gains through international agencies or courts and drop the Palestinian demand for a building freeze. So, here we go once more into the breach with the demands placed on Israel are cemented deeds of surrendering even more lands to Palestinian control for the use of launching terror strikes and other disruptions and releasing a significant number of the worst of the worst terrorists who will assist in facilitating the terror attacks and other demonstrations and lawlessness. Meanwhile the Palestinians are being asked to make empty promises which they will break just as soon as they have used Secretary Kerry and the full pressure of the United States State Department as well as President Obama’s support with all that such can entail to squeeze as much from the Israeli negotiators before walking out on the negotiations and starting the next round of violence. We have all seen this song and dance numerous times since the introduction of Oslo which was perhaps the biggest perpetrator of this scenario of evils.

One can likely easily predict what President Abbas will have to say when Secretary Kerry comes knocking on his door. He has already accepted the expectation that Prime Minister Netanyahu will release a sizeable number of Palestinian terrorists from serving out the rest of their sentences and the transfer of most if not all of Area B into Palestinian hands making them completely off limits to Jews who would pay with their lives for trespassing onto Palestinian lands. In return he will likely promise not to take Israel before any international court or agency and will agree not to press for an Israeli building freeze beyond the negotiations but will attempt to have Secretary Kerry demand that Israel impose a building freeze for the entire period while negotiations are being considered. For some unknown reason, I can see Secretary Kerry agreeing with President Abbas that a building freeze makes perfect sense and add that demand to the Israeli to do list. Expect to hear plenty of quotes from Mahmoud Abbas about how he is looking forward to negotiation and how he is ready to make the necessary sacrifices for peace and if only Netanyahu would show the same flexibility as the Palestinians have there would be talks and peace breaking out momentarily. Expect much of the world press to seek answers from Netanyahu about if he is ready to meet Abbas half way and if not why is it the Israelis refuse to even try to make peace and how long are the Israelis going to deny the Palestinians their rightful homelands. I foresee a wholesale assault on Netanyahu while the praises of Abbas are sung far and wide. I call it “The Adoration and the Beast.”

Abbas already knows exactly what he needs to do to come out looking like he is the man of the hour. All he needs to do is grin and shake hands with Secretary Kerry and make grand statements about his being anxious to get to the peace table and work with Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni to reach a fair and equitable peace. He will not need to deliver on any of his grand illusions; he just has to paint the picture of willingness and affability. Then when it all falls apart Abbas simply has to condemn Netanyahu and most of the world’s mainstream press will join in on damning Netanyahu while heaping praises on Abbas. In the meantime, Abbas, with the aid of the press, will be spreading the blame for the uptick in violence on Netanyahu and the Israelis for some offense such as Judaizing Jerusalem, using overly strong tactics against innocent Palestinian demonstrators, Being unyielding and refusing to take a chance on peace, obstinacy, and a the litany of other evils just as the act had been mastered originally by Yasser Arafat and nearly perfected by his protégé who was by his side when founding the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas. People tend to forget that next to Yasser Arafat from the beginning was the representation of the PLO as statesmen, the man who wore a suit, Mahmoud Abbas. Replace the suit with fatigues and a gun on his hip and take away his razor for a couple of days and you would have a second Arafat because the lying and underhandedness of Arafat is found just as deeply in Mahmoud Abbas, he just looks and smells better.

Meanwhile, what should be Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reaction to the trip into shame being planned for him by Secretary Kerry? Netanyahu has to know that there is nothing that will favor Israel in Secretary Kerry’s plans and that Kerry will ally and work to assist the Palestinians in every way he can as Kerry has proven by past actions and statements that he believes that the Palestinians are peace loving and that if only Israel could be brought to bend there would be peace. Kerry does not believe that the Palestinians have never desired peace but only wish to destroy the Jewish State of Israel. The Palestinians, including Abbas and Fayyad, have said time and time again that they will only accept a peace which will lead to the destruction of Israel even if it must be done in stages. So, what can Prime Minister Netanyahu do to prevent the field-day that the press is praying for at his and Israel’s expense? Other than meeting Secretary Kerry at the airport and handing him a fishing rod and requesting he go fishing elsewhere, is there a magic bromide which can be applied to save Israel from this trap? Yes, there is one item that Netanyahu can request that would end any attempts from Abbas and Kerry to demonize Israel. He would have to tell Kerry that should Abbas agree that he will give up the Palestinian right to violence against the presumed occupation for the duration of the peace talks he will release prisoners and transfer the land at the conclusion of the talks providing the peace has not been violated, not one stone thrown, not one knife wielded, not one tire set aflame, not one fire-bomb thrown, not one riot to prevent Jews from visiting the Temple Mount, not a single provocation of any kind, that is what Israel demands. It probably does not seem like a very big demand and should be something easy to arrange, but in that rides the problem. If Abbas does manage to arrange the quiet and stops the attacks and rioting, then he is able to stop terror and he becomes responsible for any further act of terror. And if Abbas is unable to enforce calm then why negotiate with a person who does not even control the people he presumably represents? The request is a simple one that almost everyone would agree is righteous and noble and not out of the question. If anything it should be the easiest of requests to grant but Abbas would refuse to accept such a request and by doing so would have his façade stripped away. So, Prime Minister Netanyahu, just meet Kerry with a fishing rod and request that Abbas guarantee calm and a complete cessation to terrorism, riots, and lawlessness for the duration of the peace talks and ask that Kerry call him once he has that guarantee but in the meantime, tell him you are going fishing.

Beyond the Cusp

Kerry’s Middle East Peace Plan Unveiled on Netanyahu

United States Secretary of State John Kerry began his follow-up to President Obama’s visit to the Middle East on Saturday by unveiling his great new hope for developing negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli leaders in order to solve the dilemmas and produce the long-sought two states for two peoples living in peace and security side-by-side. Secretary Kerry had been making grand praises for his mysterious new plan to restart the peace talks between Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership and Benyamin Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership. The current situation is as favorable as any in recent history for establishing a dialogue and possibly even making some headway towards settling the final status agreement from which a Palestinian state would become not only possible but a viable entity as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has appointed his Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to lead the Israeli negotiating team and take charge of all negotiations with the Palestinians. One would be hard pressed to find another politician or negotiator in Israel who would present a more lenient and accepting individual than Tzipi Livni as she has indicated she favors, among other things, release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody, a partial acceptance of Palestinian ‘right of return’ accepting some number of refugees into Israel, returning Israel to the pre-1967 War lines, the Green Line, with only mutually agreed land swaps making any necessary or desired changes, granting the Palestinians all of east Jerusalem as their capital including the entirety of the Old City, the Temple Mount, and the Western Wall along with the plaza adjacent to it. One might be led to think that with Tzipi Livni leading the negotiations that there would be a peace treaty quickly as what more could Mahmoud Abbas demand that she would not comply with and grant?

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Kerry began his initiative with a meeting in the Jordanian Capital of Amman with Mahmoud Abbas where they discussed what would be necessary to restart negotiations between Abbas and the Israeli negotiators. Kerry was reportedly told that Israel would necessarily have to freeze all building in the disputed areas which are expected to be returned to the Palestinians, accept the pre-1967 War lines as the start point in negotiations for borders with any changes requested by Israel subject to Palestinian acceptance or denial, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Kerry was soon armed with Palestinian President Abbas’s conditions, the very same conditions he initially made when President Obama attempted to bully Israel into complying with early in his first term which resulted eventually in a crushing end to the peace process as even after Israel froze building in the disputed areas Abbas refused to meet. That evening Secretary Kerry began his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu where he related the events and substance of the meeting with Abbas from earlier in the day. As the meeting continued they were joined by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Netanyahu’s personal envoy Yitzhak Molcho and his national security adviser Yaakov Amidror so that the entire Israeli team could be brought into the process.

It has been reported that the Israelis were informed that in order to have Mahmoud Abbas return to the negotiations and stay from pressing charges against Israel in the international courts such as the ICC Israel would be required to begin the transfer of the lands within Area B from joint control to unilateral Palestinian control for civil and security responsibilities removing all Israeli influence and having these areas incorporated into Area A where Israelis are forbidden entry without Palestinian approval, and Israel would be required to release prisoners from Israeli custody though the exact numbers or suggested lists were not discussed. Secretary Kerry also relayed that Mahmoud Abbas had stressed that Israeli settlements endanger the peace process. Whether anything else was discussed with Netanyahu and his negotiating team has not been released though there have been rumors that Obama agreed to allow Israel to implement a silent construction freeze where no new building would be approved but there would be no official statement or recognition of such a freeze in construction. This sound very much like what was in existence under Minister of Defense Ehud Barak in the last Israeli government and one will need to wait and see if Netanyahu will have his new Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon or whoever else will be charged with approvals for building permits in Judea and Samaria also to refuse to sign off on any new building permits. As far as restarting the peace process we hold out little hope. Just a reminder to those who will revel in these supposedly new initiatives and the introduction of a path to renewed talks that we have seen these exact same demands from Abbas before the last time he refused to restart the peace process. Israel enforced a ten month building freeze during which Abbas made every effort to avoid talks until three weeks before the freeze was to end when he returned to negotiate the making of the building freeze permanent before he would take even an initial step towards talks. He will once again find reasons to protest and if his protests and complaints are not honored, Abbas will simply once again begin adding more and more precondition and requirements on the Israelis in order to avoid peace talks.

Secretary of State Kerry may actually believe he knows the secret formula that would lead to peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. His making such a statement is only proof that he has not been paying attention to the situation all those years he has sat in the United States Senate. The one point that Secretary Kerry and all others need to understand is that Palestinian President Abbas cannot make a peace with Israel that leaves Israel as the Jewish State. As soon as Abbas would make an agreement to have a Palestinian state formed next to Israel instead of replacing Israel he would be a man marked for death. Just as happened in Gaza once the Israeli people and IDF were removed, Hamas will revolt and take over Judea and Samaria along with any parts of Jerusalem which were surrendered to Abbas for the Palestinian state and to make peace. Once Hamas had taken control of all the Palestinian lands they would try, convict and execute every single leading figure from the Palestinian Authority who had anything to do with forging the peace agreement or cooperating in any manner with the Israeli security and other personnel. They did the exact same thing in Gaza after their successful coup. With this as an eventual possibility which would follow any peace agreement which Abbas makes with Israel, even if it is only in Abbas’s head, he will refuse to even negotiate as there is always the fear that Israel might call his bluff and accept all of his preconditions. Abbas is a survivor and all of his actions are planned to keep him alive and he believes that any peace that does not erase the Jewishness of Israel or erase Israel altogether is a peace which will result in his death. It is this threat which drives Abbas and leaves to his final trump card, the demand that Israel would never acquiesce to. That final demand is for Israeli to agree to blanket acceptance for the ‘right of return’ of close to if not more than five million refugees into Israel with full citizenship and rights. Such an agreement would be the end of Israel as it now exists and that the next election would turn Israel into another Arab Muslim state as that is the intent and only truth Abbas will ever settle for as the peace he seeks. That is the only agreement that has even a remote chance of allowing Abbas to continue to live.

Unfortunately, there is a problem with this settlement as well. The current situation brings along with it a near endless amount of funds from Europe, the United States, the United Nations, the Arab world and sundry other institutions and organizations. These funds have made Mahmoud Abbas a very wealthy man who lives a life of comfort. Should the Palestinian state he supposedly seeks ever be established these funds would begin to dry up and eventually stop. With things the way they are, Abbas simply sobs and cries into the closest microphone with his regular old canard of the Jews are destroying our economy and woe are us under the Israeli occupation ending with we will cease to eat or even exist without many billions of Euros and Dollars immediately. And every time he does his song and dance routine the monies roll in from all over the world. The countries of the world scurry and hold emergency meetings to save the Palestinians and Abbas pockets his commission, say likely twelve percent or so. As long as the world is willing to pay the Palestinians to seek peace the Palestinians will complain and pretend to seek peace blaming everybody’s favorite scapegoats, the Jews, for denying the Palestinians a state of their own and refusing to meet the few minor preconditions, actually not preconditions but more obligations according to Abbas, thus denying the world a peaceful Middle East. Truth be told, if the world really desires peace between the Palestinians and Israelis then they are going to have to begin to pay for peace by promising funding only after peace has been made and the terrorism completely halted. Anything else will simply facilitate the endless continuation of the present situation guaranteeing absolutely no possibility for peace or change.

Beyond the Cusp