MYTH: "Palestinians are talking about peace with Israelis in Jordan."

MYTH "Palestinians are talking about peace with Israelis in Jordan."  FACT Palestinians refuse to make the simple declarative statement that they support two states for two peoples – as Benjamin Netanyahu did in June 2009. They sit in what are supposed to be peace talks without ever agreeing that peace should be the outcome of negotiations.93 Lacking a mandate from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to actually negotiate, the Palestinian delegation refused to listen when Israel’s security concerns were raised (they prevented the Israeli briefer from entering the room). Moreover, when the Israeli team broached the subject of East Jerusalem and Jewish settlement blocs, chief “negotiator” Saeb Erekat had no counter offer other than accusing Israel of trying to deprive Palestine of territorial contiguity.94 Israel continues to be pressured to make gestures to the Palestinians just to keep them at the negotiating table, ignoring the fact that the Palestinians never consider any Israeli concessions sufficient and simply raise their demands each time Israel gives in to international pressure and offers Mahmoud Abbas a carrot. Now Abbas has expanded his list of preconditions for Israel to meet before agreeing to future negotiations. In addition to a settlement freeze, Abbas now demands that Israel release more Palestinian prisoners, dismantle West Bank checkpoints, and even cede territory to PA control. In essence, Abbas is seeking to flip the negotiation process on its head - demanding results before talks - and then seeks to blame Israel for the lack of progress until his demands are met.95 Peace seems to be the last thing on the Palestinian agenda. Instead, Fatah and Hamas have announced their reconciliation without Hamas meeting any of the international conditions for recognition, namely recognizing Israel, ending terror and affirming past Israeli-Palestinian agreements. Hamas officials have made clear they remain committed to Israel’s destruction and this must now be considered the policy of the unity government.96 Beyond rhetoric, the Palestinians continue to engage in warlike activities, including the firing of rockets into Israel, attempting to carry out terrorist attacks, mounting an international campaign to delegitimize Israel and inciting violence in schools, the media and mosques.97 Some still naively believe the conflict is about land. Israel proved through its withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, however, that it is prepared to give up land in the hope of achieving peace. The Palestinians, however, do not give any indication that they will be satisfied unless Israel withdraws to the Mediterranean Sea. The Palestinians’ leaders today are not just at war with Israelis but with the Jewish people. This was evident in the statement by the Mufti of Jerusalem, the inheritor of the position once held by Hitler’s would-be accomplice Haj Amin al-Husseini. The current Mufti, Sheikh Ikrem Sabri, quoted a hadith on January 9, 2012, which said that: The hour of judgment will not come until you fight the Jews….The Jew will hide behind the stone and behind the tree. The stone and the tree will cry, ‘Oh Muslim, Oh Servant of God, this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’98 The man who introduced the Mufti declared: “Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs is a war of religion and faith. Long live Fatah!”99 Israelis would like nothing more than to have peace with the Palestinians, especially watching the turmoil in the Arab world around them; however, the earthquake we are witnessing in the region makes Israel’s security needs even more urgent. Israelis now see Islamists taking over Egypt and threatening to tear up the treaty with Israel; Hamas terrorists firing rockets from Gaza, Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists taking over Lebanon and threatening to fire 50,000 rockets at northern Israel; Syria in shambles, with the prospect of an Islamist regime coming to power in Damascus; the Palestinians in the West Bank joining hands with Hamas and Iran getting closer each day to achieving a nuclear capability.100 As the earth falls in around them, the Israelis need reassurance, not pressure. The inventory of their concessions is long; the list of Palestinian compromises can be written on a postage stamp. It is said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The long journey toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians ultimately begins with the Palestinians taking that first step – one Israel has already taken – and agreeing to two states for two peoples. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths3/MFexclusives.html#16