Why Palestinians Cannot Resume Peace Talks with Israel
by Bassam Tawil • April 11, 2023 at 5:00 am
Once a Palestinian leader makes such a serious (and false) allegation against Jews [such as "violent storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque"], he is telling the Arabs and Muslims that the Jews... should therefore be fought against, not welcomed as peace partners.
If you tell your people (again, falsely) that the Israelis are perpetrating "war crimes," "desecrating mosques" and "stealing land," what will the Palestinians think of you when they see you sitting with an Israeli? They will denounce you as a "traitor" and call for your death.
By describing the Jews as "colonizers," [Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad] Shtayyeh is seeking to send a message that the Jews have no religious or historical connection to their homeland, Israel.
In the eyes of Shtayyeh and many Palestinians, all Jews living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea are "colonizers" and "settlers." These Palestinians see no difference between a Jew living in a Jewish community in the West Bank and a Jew living in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. For them, all Jews are foreigners who have no connection whatsoever to Israel and Jewish holy sites and no right ever to live there. Period.
Palestinian leaders such as Shtayyeh are straightforwardly saying that they see Israel as one big illegal settlement that must be eradicated... [and not] as a place for anyone other than Muslims.
[C]ontrary to the false claim made by Shtayyeh and other Palestinian leaders, the Jews who visit the holy site have never set foot inside the al-Aqsa Mosque.
One of those who have failed to call out the Palestinians for their antisemitism and lies is US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"Palestinians and Israelis alike are experiencing growing insecurity, growing fear in their homes, in their communities, in their places of worship," Blinken argued.
If the Palestinians are "experiencing growing insecurity," it is because they are enabling terrorists to operate freely against Israel within their own communities. If the Palestinians want to live in their homes in security and without fear, they could stop terrorists from planning and executing terror attacks against Israel. If the Palestinians want to feel safe in their worship places, they could stop attacking and harassing Jews....
The Israeli army does not send its soldiers to Palestinian cities for fun. The only reason Israeli troops enter Palestinian cities and towns is to arrest terrorists or foil terror attacks that are being planned.
The Israeli security forces are actually forced to launch these counterterrorism operations because the Palestinian Authority and its president, Mahmoud Abbas, are not fulfilling their obligations under the terms of their agreements with Israel to prevent and combat terrorism.
Instead, Abbas and the Palestinian leadership continue to glorify terrorists and to reward them and their families financially through the infamous "Pay-for-Slay" program. These are payments for killing Jews – like Murder, Inc.
In a place such as the West Bank that has lived off handouts from Europe, the US, Qatar and Iran, and where the Palestinian Authority never bothered to build any kind of industrial or self-sustaining economic base, paying people to murder Jews has, in a poor region, become a booming jobs program.
Every day, every Jew in Israel literally walks around with a bounty on his or her head. If you are a Jew in Israel, every day is "hunting season."
In the world of Palestinian leaders, a terrorist is entitled to murder or wound Jews, but when the Jews manage to foil the attack or kill the terrorist, the Jews should be condemned for perpetrating "crimes" and "violating international law."
What is more bizarre is that Blinken, who did not utter a word to refute the lies coming out of Abbas's mouth, instead chose to praise the Palestinian leader: "I also appreciate, Mr. President, your consistent and resolute stance against terrorism."
For the Biden Administration, a Palestinian leader who glorifies terrorists as "heroes and martyrs" and pays their families monthly salaries deserves praise for his "stance against terrorism." If this US position was not so dangerous, it would be a sad joke.
If the Biden administration wants to understand why Palestinian leaders cannot resume any "peace process" with Israel, Blinken and the State Department would be advised to listen to the anti-Israel statements and lies of Abbas and Shtayyeh. These lies include charges that Israel is committing "war crimes," "extra-judicial killings," "ethnic cleansing," and "apartheid."
As long as Palestinian leaders continue to incite violence against Israel and Jews, these leaders will never return to any negotiating table with Israel.
Naïve Americans and gullible Europeans keep giving these leaders every incentive to continue their program of "Murder, Inc." by rewarding them with "free" money for terrorism -- with no strings attached. Under those terms, who wouldn't continue killing Jews -- or anyone? It is a gold mine.
Finally, these leaders might simply find it more comfortable to perpetuate the drama of the "cause" rather than the anonymous, less-than-heroic tedium of running a state. Unless, of course, that state could entail driving out the Jews.
As the Biden Administration continues to state its commitment to a "two-state negotiated solution" between the Palestinians and Israel, Palestinian leaders are pursuing their campaign to vilify Israel and demonize Jews. This campaign, which is manifest mostly in the rhetoric of the leaders and the Palestinian media, mosques and schools, has made it impossible – not to mention personally dangerous – for any Palestinian leader to seek a negotiated and peaceful settlement with Israel.
