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Understanding the U.S. Peace Plan from an Islamic Perspective

(JNS) Dr. Harold Rhode - The ultimate source of Palestinian rejectionism comes from the deeply rooted belief that, according to Islamic law, any territory that ever comes under Muslim rule must remain Muslim forever. All of Israel and the West Bank were captured by the Muslims in 637-638 CE. That means that, from a Muslim perspective, it is Muslim territory forever. According to this view, Spain, too, which Muslims ruled from 712-1492 CE, still belongs to the Muslims. Tel Aviv, therefore, is, from the Muslim perspective, as much a "settlement" as any of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Jews cannot be legitimate sovereigns over either. The Oslo process gave the Palestinians veto power. Any time they disagreed with something, the U.S. and some Israeli leaders then started to look for ways to improve the offer, not understanding that there would be no way they could ever placate Palestinian negotiators. The new U.S. plan removes that veto power. Palestinians no longer have the luxury of being able to reject an Israeli offer and expect that the previous offer would be the starting point in any future round of negotiations. The writer served for 28 years as an advisor on the Islamic world in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
2020-02-07 00:00:00
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