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Obstacle to Peace

[Jerusalem Post] Editorial - Forget the settlements. If the world truly wants to identify an obstacle to peace, it could do much worse than cast its eyes toward Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. For nearly 18 years, Amr Moussa, first as Egypt's foreign minister for a decade, and then for the last eight years as head of the Arab League, has worked mightily to poison the atmosphere against Israel. This week, however, Moussa outdid himself. With U.S. envoy George Mitchell trying to line up some normalization gestures from the Arab states toward Israel as part of a package to relaunch the diplomatic process, Moussa did what he could to stand in the way. At a press conference in Cairo with Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, Moussa warned there would be a harsh response against any Arab country making gestures to Israel. Moussa said, "No Arab state will offer Israel gifts on a silver platter." What Moussa evidently has yet to internalize is that peace is not a gift to Israel, but rather to the region. Steps toward normalization are not "silver platter" gifts to Israel, but a necessary precursor to peace. Israelis won't feel secure enough to make additional significant concessions until they sense their neighbors accept their existence.
2009-09-11 08:00:00
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