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Israeli Elections Did Not Determine the Future of the Peace Process

(Israel Hayom) Jonathan S. Tobin - With all the apocalyptic rhetoric over the Israeli election, many still fail to understand the broad consensus among Israelis on security issues and the peace process. That consensus holds that the Palestinians have no real interest in peace and that in the absence of a peace partner, the kind of territorial concessions some demand that Israel make wouldn't be so much unwise as insane. That's why all the talk about Israel's latest election deciding the future of the peace process is wrong. As Arafat did in 2000 and 2001, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas said "no" to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's 2008 offer of an independent Palestinian state in Gaza and almost all of the West Bank, as well as a share of Jerusalem. Abbas to this day refuses to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders are drawn. Palestinian peace with Israel is impossible until a sea change in their culture produces a leadership that would be serious about peace. Should such a leadership ever emerge, they will, no doubt, find willing Israeli partners. But that's something for the future. For now, Israelis understand that the Palestinians have already decided against peace - no matter who is Israel's prime minister.
2019-09-18 00:00:00
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