The Obama administration's call for a settlement freeze that gave the Palestinians an excuse to avoid talks. And it was the President's pressure on only the Israeli side that provided the PA with the confidence to bring this resolution to the United States.
Abbas is not a man of a peace, as recently as three weeks ago he bloviated about his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish State.
For the naysayers who say why should the PA have to recognize the nature of the Israel. One reason is that its the UN who defines it that way. The original partition resolution passed by the UN in November 1947, UN Resolution 181 calls for dividing Palestine into Independent Arab and Jewish States.
During his big Middle East speech in May, President spent much time telling Israel what she had to do, but he didn’t address the fact that neither Palestinian President Abbas’ Fatah party and the Hamas party refuse to recognize Israel as the Jewish State. During a press conference with British PM Cameron just a few days later, Obama repeated his omission.
“I believe that Hamas, in its own description of its agenda, has not renounced violence and has not recognized the state of Israel. And until they do, it is very difficult to expect Israelis to have a serious conversation, because ultimately they have to have confidence that a Palestinian state is one that is going to stick to its — to whatever bargain is struck.”Recognizing Israel as a Jewish State is a larger issue than how to describe a particular nation. Once Israel is recognized as a Jewish State the Palestinian demand for a right of return for the descendants of the original refugees within the borders of Israel is resolved also. Being a democracy, if Israel allows herself to be flooded with millions of the descendants of those 1948 refugees, she will cease to be the Jewish State. Instead Israel will be just another Muslim country in the Middle East.
In October when negotiations were going on to convince PM Netanyahu to extend the Judea and Samaria building freeze, he made the offer to President Abbas to extend the settlement building freeze if the Palestinians agreed to recognize Israel as the Jewish State. Abbas replied almost imminently with a resounding no.
These omissions by President Obama are no accident. If he overtly called for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as a Jewish State he would be negating the Palestinian demand for a right to return, which is why he said the “Right of Return” is something to be left to negotiation (but according to Obama the 67 borders aren't.
“These principles provide a foundation for negotiations. Palestinians should know the territorial outlines of their state; Israelis should know that their basic security concerns will be met. I know that these steps alone will not resolve this conflict. Two wrenching and emotional issues remain: the future of Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees. But moving forward now on the basis of territory and security provides a foundation to resolve those two issues in a way that is just and fair, and that respects the rights and aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians.”This Friday the United States is going to veto the unilateral Statehood Bid of the Palestinians. The veto will probably be followed up with a speech by Secretary of State Clinton apologizing for the veto. "Wishy-washy is the Obama way. Its why the Palestinian Authority has been able to take advantage of the US at every turn, be it their refusal to negotiate because if Obama's criticism of Israel's settlement building, or their refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish state, based on Obama's refusal to make it an issue.
The Palestinians see this American Government as weak which has given them the confidence to embarrass the US in the security counsel this coming Friday.
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