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The U.S. Doesn't Really Understand the Risks Israel Faces

(Jerusalem Post) Micah Halpern - American administrations don't really grasp the reality of the Middle East. It's a part of America's DNA. Americans have an innate optimism. They believe that their point of view is the prevailing point of view and they feel that they can convince anyone. And if that doesn't work, bribery - military aid, monetary aid, UN votes - will. The U.S. will always see the Palestinians as weaker than Israel. Part of the objective of any deal brokered by an outsider, especially the U.S., is to make both parties equal - or at least more equal. But Israel and the Palestinians are not equal. Israel is a democracy. The Palestinian Authority is not. The last PA parliamentary election, which took place 11 years ago, elected Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, as Palestinian prime minister, a position he held for four weeks. Israelis want peace, not a facsimile of peace, not a partial peace. A sustainable peace. We hear it all the time: "This is the best chance," "This is the last chance," "This is the only chance." Games of chance are for people who have resources to blow, and Israel cannot afford to leave anything to chance.
2016-06-20 00:00:00
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