The Biden administration, alongside a select coalition of Arab allies, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority, is hastening to finalize an exhaustive and intricate strategy aimed at achieving enduring peace between Israel and the “Palestinians,” The Washington Post reported Wednesday night. This plan entails a concrete timetable for the formation of a Palestinian state and may be unveiled within the coming weeks.
According to the WP report, a preliminary ceasefire, anticipated to last a minimum of six weeks, is envisioned to allow for the plan’s public announcement, garnering further backing, and commencing initial measures towards its execution. There’s also a concerted effort to secure a hostage agreement before the onset of Ramadan, starting on March 10, to prevent exacerbating the already dire situation in Gaza during the fasting month for Muslims.
The plan includes establishing an interim Palestinian state administration.
BIBI THE ELEPHANT
“The elephant in the planning room is Israel, and whether its government will acquiesce to much of what is being discussed: the withdrawal of many, if not all, settler communities on the West Bank; a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem; the reconstruction of Gaza; and security and governance arrangements for a combined West Bank and Gaza,” comment WP reporters Karen DeYoung, Susannah George, and Loveday Morris, adding, “The hope is that Israel would also be offered specific security guarantees and normalization with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that would be hard to refuse.”
The elephant’s handler, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Sunday, noted a list of practical unknowns on the way to establishing a Palestinian State. Speaking to ABC News’ “This Week,” Netanyahu said, “Everybody who talks about a two-state solution — well, I ask, what do you mean by that? Should the Palestinians have an army? … Should they continue to educate their children for terrorism and annihilation? Of course, I say, of course not.” Also, “The most important power that has to remain in Israel’s hands, is an overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan River.”
Naturally, every single one of Netanyahu’s conditions is a little Trojan horse the folks in Ramallah couldn’t possibly handle – never mind giving up eastern Jerusalem, the right of return to pre-1948 Arab-owned properties, and, most important of all: recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, a safe haven to all the Jews who are trying to wade through avenues packed with antisemitic demonstrators around the globe even as we speak.
A STATE EXPEDITED
It cannot be denied that the massacre of some 1,200 Jews on October 7, 2023, has generated near-universal support for a Palestinian state. Who knew that’s all the Arabs needed to do? Kill a thousand-plus Jews, get a state.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has already publicly indicated a keen interest in promptly acknowledging a Palestinian state, behind Israel’s back. Here’s a funny historical tidbit: the UK was the only country to recognize Jordan’s annexation of the “West Bank” back in 1949. The Brits are so enamored with tradition. Mind you, neither they nor the Hashemite royal family ever dreamed of giving the “Palestinians” a state from the Jordan to the 1949 armistice line.
The EU’s special representative for the Middle East Peace Process, Sven Koopmans, has already declared the Europeans are “reaching out … to see how we can work together to have a larger plan that actually focuses on getting to the end of the conflict. That’s an actual peace process that wants to get to an independent fully recognized Palestinian state and a secure state of Israel fully integrated in the region. Is that feasible? It’s extremely difficult, but in the absence of any other plan, we are interested in pursuing this.”
US officials have been leaking for some time the possibility that Israel’s biggest ally might recognize a Palestinian state without Israel’s consent.
As the WP put it, “Many believe that only US recognition of a Palestinian state at the beginning of the process, even one whose final borders and institutions are not yet finalized, could convince the Arab world that this time will be different.”
Oh, listen to this: the WP cited an Arab official who insisted Hamas’s political wing should be included in the talks. “We need someone there who represents them to ensure they’re on board with this,” the official said. “If not, and they’re not happy about it, we will have Fatah and Hamas all over again,” he warned, referring to those heady times in 2007 when Hamas operatives were throwing Fatah operatives off Gaza’s rooftops.
Proving once again that even though you want to hear new music, every once in a while it’s nice to play the hits.
