(Chicago Sun-Times) Editorial - The quest for a settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has suffered an enormous setback at the hands of the International Court of Justice. This court would sweep aside Israel's right to defend its people. The U.S. must throw its full weight, including using its veto, against any UN effort to further the court's decision. To give this opinion even the slightest credence is to deny the reality of the nearly four years of Arafat's terrorist war against the Israeli people. The fence is being built because Arafat refused to negotiate a settlement. It's being built because Palestinian society embraces a cult of mass murder. The court's action, and the UN machinations that are sure to follow, will only embolden Arafat in his intransigence and spur fantasies among Palestinians that they can still somehow defeat the Israelis. That can only be a blow to any hopes to an eventual resumption of meaningful peace talks. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sums it up well: The UN can issue any pronouncement it wants, but "it won't make it legal, it won't make it true, and it won't make it just."
2004-07-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive