(National Post-Canada) George Jonas - When Mahmoud Abbas and other PA leaders propose a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) to the UN later this month, their purpose won't be to legitimize a Palestinian state but to de-legitimize a Jewish one. On Nov. 29, 1947, UN Resolution 181 recommended the termination of the British mandate in Palestine and the partitioning of its territory into two states, one Arab, the other Jewish. The partition plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency and rejected by the Arab Higher Committee for Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared statehood, and within hours five Arab armies invaded it. Palestinian statehood hasn't been at issue for 64 years. The UN voted for it in 1947 and the Jews said yes. Ever since then the contentious issue has been Jewish statehood, not Palestinian. Nothing stood in the way of implementing Palestinian nationhood but those Arab leaders who rejected Jewish nationhood from the outset and continue to this day. The countries that rejected Palestinian statehood by voting against partition came overwhelmingly from the Arab/Muslim world. If the Palestinians don't have a state today, it's because their kissing cousins would rather see them without a home than see Jews with a roof over their heads.
2011-09-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive