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Wrong Court, Wrong Time

(Washington Post) Editorial - As so often in the past, the Palestinian leadership has chosen to press its cause not with potentially productive steps - such as a crackdown on terrorists and the renewal of negotiations with Israel - but with pointless and inflammatory grandstanding before irrelevant international bodies. The case at The Hague-based International Court of Justice, shunned by the U.S., the EU, and almost all the rest of the non-Muslim world, will prove no more successful than previous attempts to sanction or delegitimize the Jewish state. Instead it will probably reinforce the prevailing conviction in the Israeli and U.S. governments that the Palestinian administration is incapable of participating in a constructive peace process under its current leadership. Rather than isolate Israel, the case is isolating the Palestinians from the real action in the Middle East. The Israeli government and the Bush administration have been quietly negotiating the terms of a momentous initiative that would transform the situation on the ground. Instead of working out the terms with the Palestinians, Sharon now bargains with the White House. Wary at first, the Bush administration has steadily warmed to Sharon's idea and is giving it serious consideration. Once they finish posturing before an international court with no power over Israel or its actions, Palestinian leaders would do well to think about how they can have an influence on the real decisions about to be made.
2004-02-25 00:00:00
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