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Denying Israel's Right to Exist Is No Basis for a Settlement

[The Australian] Editorial - Not everybody got the message in Barack Obama's Cairo speech, that Middle East peace requires compromise. The Israelis did, demonstrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday proposing a new peace process. In return for accepting Israel as a Jewish nation, he offered the Palestinians a two-state solution. But Israel's opponents are not having any of it. The Palestinian Authority says Netanyahu's speech "torpedoed" peace initiatives. This was a pointless, posturing response which reflects the mentality of those members of the Palestinian political elite who prefer nihilism to negotiation and are happier denouncing Israel than dealing with it. And it reflects the mindset of those who want Israel treated as a pariah and who attempt to intimidate any individual or organization that accepts the Jewish state's right to exist. The sheer venom of Israel's enemies demonstrates how hard it will be for President Obama to broker a deal. Israel wants peace, albeit not at any price. Netanyahu will only accept a deal which acknowledges the country as a Jewish state and which ensures its security against terror attack, outright invasion or obliteration by Iran, where the re-elected Ahmadinejad regime makes no secret of its nuclear ambitions. In rejecting Netanyahu's proposal, the Palestinian leadership is betraying its people who need a permanent peace and functioning economy.
2009-06-17 06:00:00
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