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Asking Israel to Take Risks for Peace

(Washington Times) Clifford D. May - Over and over, the Israelis are asked to make concessions, to "take risks for peace." Under pressure, they sometimes do. Reciprocal concessions are not demanded of Palestinian leaders because what would be the point of asking for what they can't or won't do? Hamas, which rules Gaza, rejects the very idea of peaceful coexistence with the Jewish state. Hamas' openly stated goal is Israel's annihilation. As for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, he can't set foot in Gaza and, in the West Bank, his support has grown so thin he couldn't sign a peace agreement with Israel even if he wanted to - and it's by no means clear he does. In 2000, at Camp David, President Bill Clinton presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with his "parameters" for a "two-state solution." The Israelis accepted the deal. Then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did not. Instead, he ignited a wave of terrorist violence against Israelis that became known as the Second Intifada. Five years later, another "land for peace" experiment was run; Israelis withdrew from Gaza. Hamas began launching missiles into Israel and, more recently, digging terrorist tunnels under Israeli villages and farms. Today, Hamas collaborates with the Islamic State which is waging jihad against Egypt in Sinai. The writer is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2016-10-21 00:00:00
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