Monday, April 16, 2012

Abbas: Master of Hypocrisy


Abbas: Master of Hypocrisy

Let us see what happens when and if Bibi meets the master hypocrite face to face, as our PM has just requested.

From Andrew Hersh
The leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, can be described in various ways.
Intransigent?  Definitely. 
Corrupt?  Absolutely. 

But perhaps most prominently, Abbas is a hypocrite, which can be seen from both his words and actions.  As the leader of an authority expected by the international community to engage in serious peace-making efforts, his hypocrisy serves as a detrimental blow to these efforts, and as a slap in the face to the international community - if it would only open its eyes and notice.

Documenting Abbas’ hypocrisy over the years is enough to fill a book.  Instead, one can find evidence of his hypocrisy from recent statements he made -for example, just a few days ago, on April 2nd.  Indeed, the statements he made were largely a repeat of previous statements that he constantly issues.  But these statements are so hypocritical  – they can not be left without a response.

Just a few days ago, Mahmoud Abbas complained about the impasse in the diplomatic peace process with Israel, and threatened to file a complaint with the international community if Israel doesn’t move the process forward.  Abbas already went to the international community in September, attempting to gain statehood in the U.N. and bypass direct negotiations, but fortunately this effort failed.  It would appear as though Abbas cannot think of anything new…

Israel must accept international legitimacy and stop construction in the settlements,” stated Abbas.

International legitimacy?  Israel is a full-fledged member state in the United Nations, and participates in multiple U.N. committees. 

The right to a national homeland for the Jewish people in the geographical area previously known as Palestine is enshrined in international law.  The Balfour Declaration, League of Nations, U.S. Congress, and United Nations all recognized the need for a national homeland for the Jewish people, especially to protect against persecution and anti-Semitism, as seen by the pogroms in Russia and the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany (which eventually led to the Holocaust.

International legitimacy?  Mr. Abbas, Israel is legitimate in every way possible.  On the contrary, it is the Palestinians who are not a member state in the United Nations, although if Abbas was truly concerned about this, he would negotiate genuinely with Israel and reach a peaceful solution.

International legitimacy?  Mr. Abbas, it is not the Israeli government which seeks to strike a reconciliation deal and form a government with an organization (Hamas) designated as a terrorist organization by the international community, including the U.S., U.K., E.U., Australia, Canada, and Israel.  No, Mr. Abbas, it is the Palestinian Authority which has put forth this appearance of wanting unity with Hamas!  Talk about international legitimacy?

There are not preconditions, but obligations which Israel must fulfill in accordance with international legitimacy. When Israel accepts these two obligations, we will be ready to return to the negotiations.”

Obligations?  Why is one party obligated to fulfill certain conditions, while the other is not?  Why does the Palestinian Authority leadership refuse to negotiate with Israel unless Israel first fulfills certain conditions?  This is not how moderate peace-seeking organizations negotiate in order to end a conflict!

If you want to negotiate, you need to sit down and be serious about resolving the situation.  But Abbas prefers not to negotiate, reap the rewards, aid, and media coverage from the international community, and perpetuate the conflict.

Obligations?  In what manner?  No, Mr. Abbas, these are ridiculous pre-conditions that are unnecessary if you are serious about making peace.  According to dictionary.com, a precondition is “something that must come before or is necessary to a subsequent result.” 

What Abbas is demanding perfectly fits this definition, as Abbas demands that Israel takes certain actions before he even sits down to negotiate.  Some of the demands that Abbas makes include a complete freeze on settlement construction, acceptance of the 1949 Armistice Lines (the so-called “1967 borders”), and the "right of return" for Palestinian "refugees".

What is interesting is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fulfilled Abbas’ request for a settlement freeze, which Abbas insisted would lead to negotiations.  The prime minister from the rightist party Likud took an unprecedented move in freezing the settlements for 10 months, which even prime ministers on the left side of the political spectrum never did.  But what did Abbas do?  Naturally, he refused to negotiate with Israel, instead deciding to list more preconditions before negotiations.

And the 1949 Armistice Lines?  U.S. President Obama also stated they should be the basis for talks.  And insisting on the right of return for millions of Palestinian 'refugees', the majority of which are not considered refugees by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, and the majority of which left the area in 1948 to make room for invading Arab countries and were not actually expelled, is preposterous.  This would effectively end the only Jewish state in the world, and Abbas knows this. 

"If he [Netanyahu] agrees, we would be ready to resume the talks.”

On the contrary, I have already documented the numerous cases in which PM Netanyahu demonstrated flexibility and accepted certain preconditions, while Abbas flatly refused to negotiate, despite previous promises that he would do so.

While PM Netanyahu is ready to accept a Palestinian state that is achieved through direct negotiations, Mahmoud Abbas is intransigent in accepting to negotiate with Israel.

And yet, while Prime Minister Netanyahu has accepted certain preconditions in the past, Abbas still insists that the reason there are no negotiations is because Israel has refused preconditions that should not be required for negotiations.  If this were a comedy, it would be an instant hit.

“Hamas are our brothers and the Israelis are our peace partners and we believe in the two-state solution."

That is the most interesting and hypocritical statement of all!

Mahmoud Abbas believes that Hamas, who threw Fatah members off buildings in 2007, are brothers.  And because they are brothers, they are entitled to sign a reconciliation deal with Fatah and form a unity government with them. 

It’s irrelevant to Abbas that Hamas has made public statements that they would not abandon jihad and armed struggle if they join the PLO.  It’s irrelevant to Abbas that the international community lists Hamas as a terrorist organization.  It’s irrelevant to Abbas that the United States has said they would be forced to freeze aid to the P.A. if they form a unity government with Hamas, since that would contravene U.S. law against sending aid to a terrorist organization.

If Abbas is entitled to sign a reconciliation deal and accept Hamas because they are brothers, then should he not hold Israelis to the same level? 

Why are Prime Minister Netanyahu and Jewish settlers in Judea & Samaria not brothers?  After all, if they are brothers, as apparently Hamas and the P.A. are for being Palestinian Arabs, then surely PM Netanyahu and the Jewish settlers are brothers for being Jewish Israelis! 

And lastly, if Abbas truly believed in the two-state solution, he would be negotiating right now with PM Netanyahu instead of listing preconditions, instead of being a master in hypocrisy.

Let us see if he agrees to meet Netanyahu face to face, as the Israeli Prime Minister has just suggested.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/11508#.T4r5jb9Wq_Y

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