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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Mahmoud Abbas: Is the Road Map A Dead Ender |
| 2005-10-20 |
| So much double dealing, so little time.... WSJ sub reqd When I meet in Washington today with President Bush, I will reiterate his own inspiring words: "I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom." And I will put to him that the Palestinians, after nearly 40 years of occupation, still do not live as free people in their own land. Finally, I will reiterate that I remain fully committed to his vision for a viable and free Palestinian state, living in peace and security with Israel, and to the Road Map for achieving lasting Middle East peace through negotiations. There is a sound logic to President Bush's vision: The Road Map will lead to an independent and democratic Palestinian state; a Palestinian state will allow its citizens finally to taste freedom; and our freedom will be the foundation for lasting peace in the Middle East. Since my democratic election as president of the Palestinian Authority in January, my government has done all in its power to advance the Road Map and live up to our commitments: My government has initiated serious reforms of our governing institutions; we have consolidated the official security agencies; we have declared a policy of non-violence and negotiations and we have worked hard to secure and maintain a cease-fire to which all factions signed on. Unfortunately, Palestinians cannot pursue the Road Map alone. Implicit in the idea of the Road Map is that Israel and the Palestinians are partners in the journey to peace. Yet the Israeli government has not fully cooperated with my government, created obstacles in the face of a full and unconditional return to the negotiating table, and acted as if Israel can resolve the Middle East conflict unilaterally. In addition, the Israeli government has taken steps that undermine the Road Map. For example, during Israel's Gaza disengagement, my government was asked to ensure that Israel's evacuation took place peacefully and without disruption. I am proud to say that we succeeded: not a single Israeli settler or soldier was attacked or fired on. We were told that our behavior would be a "test," and that if we did our part, Israel would reciprocate by allowing Gazans to breathe the air of freedom and begin rebuilding their shattered lives. Yet, this has not happened: Gaza's airport and crossing point to Egypt remain closed; its waters are off-limits to our fishermen; its borders are completely sealed and movement into or out of Gaza is virtually impossible; and no safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank exists. Because investors rightly fear that without access to the outside world, Gazans will not be able to rebuild a functioning economy, they have been slow at investing. This is not the vision that President Bush and I had for the Gaza Strip back in May: We wanted to see a free Gaza Strip, open to the rest of the world, where Palestinians can be free and where our economy can prosper. But as long as Israel maintains its stronghold over the borders, water and airspace of the Gaza Strip this will never come to pass. Similarly, this is not the vision that we have for the West Bank. Palestinians have been assured that "Gaza first" would not be "Gaza last." We were told that we would soon enjoy an expansion of our freedom in the West Bank. We were told that Israel's evacuation of the Gaza Strip would not come at the expense of deepening the settlement activity in the West Bank. Instead, Israel has accelerated its settlement expansion in the Palestinian heartland. In fact, the 26 months since Israel announced its plans to disengage from Gaza have witnessed the highest rate of West Bank settlement construction in all the occupation years. Israel has also continued construction of the Wall -- deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice -- depriving more and more Palestinians their freedom and livelihood, and closed off access to East Jerusalem, Palestine's religious, cultural and political capital. Israel's lack of regard for the Road Map is having a powerfully negative effect on Palestinian society at an extremely critical time in our democratic development. There is a struggle underway for the hearts and minds of the Palestinian people between the moderates and the fundamentalists. I firmly believe that this struggle should be resolved to the advantage of the moderates via the democratic process, not through civil war. As John F. Kennedy once said, "A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #2 Mahmoud Abbas: Is the Road Map A Dead Ender So long as you won't do what is proper and necessary, the answer is YES. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-10-20 10:43 |
| #1 Abu I invite him to abandon The Road Map and see what happens to his albeit brief life thereafter. As the only "moderate" Palestinian on the horizon he remains, perhaps, the one single leader of his people who retains sufficient vision to pilot them through the shoals of their nascent statehood. Should Abbas abandon The Road Map, he would essentially declare open season upon himself for all of the competing factions who would like nothing more than a resumption of festivities. Abbas has little to threaten Israel with and much to fear from within his own ranks. It is obvious that Sharon realizes this and has most likely informed Abbas of exactly how brief his continued shuffle on this mortal coil will likely be should he fail to correctly read the Map. In light of the rather tedious progress that has been made, not to mention the lackluster opposition Abbas has presented to terrorists within his electorate's ranks, I find it increasingly difficult to wish him any sort of luck. The Palestinians truly deserve nothing more than a reputation for eating their young. Whether it is the endless internecine warfare, obliterating the flower of their youth or thwarting all hopes of reconstruction with unabated and endemic corruption, their rapacity is their own reward. Such willful and transcendent malignance could not be a more fitting or well deserved legacy for the Palestinian people. Success or failure of the Palestinian State teeters upon its own over honed knife-edge. The Road Map’s path is a precipitous ridgeline that Abbas will have to navigate with the nimbleness of a mountain goat, if he wishes even to live, let alone succeed. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2005-10-20 01:35 |