I am happy to see that the first big "IF" which I have blogged about has been avoided! Alarm Bells have stopped ringing over what could have happened at the Paris conference yesterday. Thanks to pressure from Israel, it's supporters, and the momentum of President-Elect Trump, Israel dodged a bullet.
If not for such pressure, anti-Israel and anti-Peace forces, including most Arab nations, would have gotten their way. And then the final communique out of the conference surely would have read very differently. Furthermore, chances of that communique working it's way into a rushed United States resolution are now all but nill.
Apparently in deference to the Trump team, the UK delegation did not include any senior-level officials. Britain sent Michael Howells, head of the Mideast desk in the foreign office, and two diplomats in its embassy in Paris. Russia, as well, was “only” represented by its ambassador to France, and not by its foreign minister. Even new UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres didn’t attend the conference.
Diplomatic officials in Jerusalem said intensive efforts by Israel over the last few days were successful in softening the language of the statement, which – for instance – did not include the language of Resolution 2334 in referring to east Jerusalem as “occupied territory.” They also noted that there would be no follow-up in the Security Council, and attributed this largely to Israel’s furious reaction to the US failure to veto that resolution.
The final communique also shied away from explicitly criticizing plans by Trump to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, although diplomats said the wording was meant to send a “subliminal” message.
In a nod to Israel, the final declaration of Sunday’s conference included criticism of incitement and “terror,” a reference to Palestinian attacks. And some of the pro-Palestinian language in an earlier draft was removed after diplomats huddled in Paris.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon dismissed Sunday’s conference, tweeting that it was “flat as a failed soufflé.” And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the conference marked the “last flutters of yesterday’s world.” “Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close,” he said.
Thankfully, it will also be a world in which French President François Hollande, who organized the conference, will not be leading! His days are numbered.
So does it mean the peace process must fail if the peace conference didn't achieve the result which Palestinian leadership sought? Of course not! Ultimately, the Paris Conference proclaimed what Netanyahu and others who want peace have been saying all along. Peace requires direct negotiations -- Not a United Nations mandate!
Hopefully, Abbas has come to the end of the long road he has taken since breaking off direct negotiations in 2014 and trying to force Israel to accept terms he wanted by bringing International pressure on Israel.
There can be no peace unless the parties want peace. Something that is so obvious and yet missing when it comes to the true intentions of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and others who are on the ground and/or dictating Palestinians actions. Abbas, or his successor, must come to the table in good faith!
“The Palestinians and a number of Arab states have not expressed a will for peace,” said Serge Klarsfeld, a well-known French Nazi hunter. “If it existed and if the Arab world recognized the existence of Israel, we would find the means to solve all the problems very quickly.”
The next stress test for the Middle East will come after Trump is in office. Will he move the US Embassy to Jerusalem? We shall see if he keeps his campaign promise. IF so, the alarm bells, and possibly air raid sirens, will sound again. But there is a righteous ring to such an announcement. Our sovereign nation, the USA, has EVERY right to locate our embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, another sovereign nation. And any country that opposes that never truly wanted peace in the first place and probably never will.
Until then, the sad and tragic news of more innocent civilians being killed by terrorist and jihadist will continue on a weekly and near daily basis. How long can Israeli, and Jews in Europe who face terrible hate, continue to live this way? For as long as they need to!
[Facts, some wording, and qoutes in this post have come from the Jerusalem Post and World News.]
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Here is egg on the faces of Hollande, Obama/Kerry, and especially Abbas!
Check out what British Prime Minister Therasa May has to say about the Obama Administration's handling of the Peace Process and UN Resolution 2335's and treatment of Israel.
Article in the Guardian
Washington Post
The Syndey Morning Herald
Theresa May on Israel "a thriving democracy, a beacon of tolerance, an engine of enterprise"
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Here is egg on the faces of Hollande, Obama/Kerry, and especially Abbas!
Check out what British Prime Minister Therasa May has to say about the Obama Administration's handling of the Peace Process and UN Resolution 2335's and treatment of Israel.
Article in the Guardian
Washington Post
The Syndey Morning Herald
Theresa May on Israel "a thriving democracy, a beacon of tolerance, an engine of enterprise"