Palestinians should return to negotiations
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans to travel to the United Nations in the next few day to request recognition of a Palestinian state. Refusing to return to direct negotiations with Israel, Mr. Abbas' path instead has been to pursue a unilateral declaration of independence, ceasing all efforts to reach an agreement around the negotiating table.
This is a tragic case of a missed opportunity. We have a government in Washington that is eager to facilitate a peace process. More importantly, the government and people of Israel have expressed consistent support for creating a Palestinian state through negotiations and a willingness to discuss all outstanding issues without preconditions.
Addressing the U.S. Congress earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that with a peace agreement, "Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as the new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so."
But as Mr. Abbas well knows, a negotiated solution will require compromise. Israel is prepared to compromise on territory and settlements. In turn, Israel requires that all missiles, suicide bombers and other violence emanating from Palestinian-controlled territory forever cease. This is called peace.
We've seen what happens when Israel is the only party that compromises. Israel pulled all of its settlements and military out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, only to see Hamas terrorists take over the territory and use it as a launching pad to continuously fire rockets at cities in southern Israel, attacks which continue to this day.
This is why the Obama administration, and both houses of Congress, as well as many leaders around the world, insist that Mr. Abbas abandon his U.N. gambit and return to the negotiating table.
Sadly, Mr. Abbas appears determined to press ahead. He knows it's a cinch to pass a resolution at a United Nations that is biased against Israel. There is an automatic majority in the U.N. General Assembly for any resolution initiated by the Palestinians and the Arab League, no matter how counterproductive.
First Published September 15, 2011 12:00 am
