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Source: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/27312.aspx
Another Approach to the Palestinian Question
(Al-Ahram-Egypt) Abdel-Moneim Said - The PA should not overlook realities. Regardless of who is at fault, the Palestinian people are split between the West Bank and Gaza. Representatives from 32 states attended the ceremonies of the transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. More than half a million Israelis live in the West Bank. The PA cannot ignore all of this. Its withdrawal from the arena by boycotting diplomacy will not make unpleasantness go away and will not improve the Palestinian position. The tide of change made important international players that had long supported the Palestinians - such as India, China and Russia - maintain close relations with Israel. Whatever progress the Palestinians experienced was achieved through direct negotiations with the Israelis. Certainly, it is possible to undermine the forthcoming U.S. initiative through opposition and boycott. However, the consequence is the perpetuation of the status quo, which works to strengthen the hand of Arab extremists such as Hamas who use "the cause" as a means to bring the Arab temple crashing down on the Arab state and the heads of all the Arabs in it. The alternative is to draw inspiration from President Anwar Al-Sadat, who saw the matter as a problem between us and Israel, rather than between us and the U.S. The writer is CEO of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo.