[Washington Times] Editorial - The expression "two-state solution" is a handy cliche that assumes that creating a Palestinian state will actually solve something. We beg to differ. Experiments in Palestinian self-rule have not been auspicious. Yasser Arafat became president of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994 under the Oslo Accords, and he quickly purged any moderate voices among the Palestinian leadership. He erected a kleptocracy that has continued under Mahmoud Abbas that subsists largely on Western aid and shows little sign of political or economic development. Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007, created an Islamic terror state that launches rocket attacks on Israel as a matter of policy, proving the emptiness of the complimentary platitude "land for peace." Pressuring Israel to accept a bad deal with people fundamentally unready for self-rule will leave the Middle East with two states and no solution.
2009-05-22 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive