One of the more striking aspects of the Palestinian position is Mr. Abbas’s argument, echoing the Palestinian National Charter, that he is unable to publicly recognize Israel as a Jewish state because that would undermine the right of Palestinian refugees to return to Israel. The illogic is stunning. If such recognition of Israel has already occurred, as Mr. Abbas himself argues, what new problem would be introduced by a mere reiteration of that fact?
Secretary Kerry said during his congressional testimony that “The level of mistrust is as large as any level of mistrust I’ve ever seen, on both sides. Neither believes the other is really serious. Neither believes that the other is prepared to make some of the big choices that have to be made here.”
With that in mind, he has deferred his original goal of a full settlement by the end of April and is trying to get the parties to come up with a framework for future negotiations and extend the talks until the end of the year.
As if on cue, Mr. Abbas has now said he will go along if Israel meets certain conditions, among them releasing still more prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, a terrorist leader responsible for the murder of dozens of Israelis. So here’s the picture: Secretary Kerry is in the background whispering in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ear to release more prisoners as a confidence-building measure. And Mr. Abbas is saying that if no deal is reached by the end of the year, the Palestinians will return to the General Assembly to get from the UN what they couldn’t get at the negotiating table.
This all has the earmarks of a Palestinian scam. And why not? Mr. Abbas has already secured the release of more than a hundred terrorists and became a hero in the process. He is now poised for an encore, at no cost to the Palestinians.
It is time for the Obama administration to end the charade rather than continue to push Israel to make dangerous concessions in a foolhardy and doomed effort to reason with the Palestinians. Plainly the Palestinians have every intention of returning to the General Assembly where they will not have to make any meaningful commitments to peace.
