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Palestine's Strangely Stubborn State of Mind

(Commentator) Emanuele Ottolenghi - Rather than seeking compromise with Israel, Palestinian leaders have again put the fate of their cause into the hands of others, foolishly believing that others will deliver what they themselves are not capable of obtaining. In 1947, Palestinian leaders trusted the Arab League and opposed compromise, since they hoped Arab armies would win the entire country by force. They did not. Then, for nearly two decades, instead of asking Jordan - who occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - and Egypt - who conquered Gaza - to turn those areas into a Palestinian state, Palestinian leaders trusted the standard bearers of Arab nationalism to restore them to power and destroy Israel. The late PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, fought anyone who dared encourage compromise with Israel. That brought more grief onto the Palestinians than all the wars with Israel combined. Arafat's brief stint in Jordan ended with its king, the late Hussein, slaughtering thousands of Palestinians to save his throne. Arafat's reliance on Saddam Hussein cost hundreds of thousands of Palestinians their livelihoods in Kuwait in 1991 - after the emirate was liberated. Adding an observer seat, along with the Vatican, on the UN roster will no doubt boost the Palestinian ego - but independence, as in the past, will remain elusive. The other option is direct negotiations, which demands give and take. Palestinian history, unfortunately, offers no precedent for that. The writer is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2012-12-10 00:00:00
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