However, many Fatah legislators have made it known that they too support the law, which states that Jerusalem is a Palestinian, Arab and Islamic city and that it is totally forbidden to give up or conduct negotiations about any part of the city.
[...]
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, a top aide to Abbas, said in response that, as far as the PA was concerned, Jerusalem was a "red line" that cannot be crossed.
Abbas told supporters in Ramallah Thursday that he did not go to Annapolis to make concessions. "There are some people who are trying to distort the truth," he said. "They are saying that we went to Annapolis to sell our cause, negotiate and sign agreements. But we went there to convey our principle and fixed positions."
That's it then. Negotiation over since the Palestinians, both Hamas and Fatah, including President Mahmoud Abbas, say they will make no concessions whatsoever.
Jerusalem, the Old City in particular, is the holiest place in the world to the Jewish people. My father fought to lift the siege of Jerusalem durig the 1948-49 War of Independence. Some things ARE worth fighting and even dying for. If the only way to achieve "peace" is to surrender our holiest sites in Jerusalem then I am opposed to this so-called "peace". Surrendering our history, our culture, our religious heritage, the very heart of the Jewish people is not worth it.
I expect to be called an intransigent right winger for this post. That's fine. I've always voted for liberal candidates, always supported the Oslo peace process prior to 2000 when the Palestinians abandoned it in favor of war, and always thought that accommodation was possible. No more. The Palestinians, through their actions and words, have convinced me. They have a "red line". So do I. I can only hope that the majority of Israelis see the same red line I do.
2 comments:
And what do you think of Obadiah Shoher's arguments against the peace process ( samsonblinded.org/blog/we-need-a-respite-from-peace.htm )?
@Alex: I don't agree with ANYTHING Mr. Shoher has to say and this is no exception. Thankfully his views aren't terribly mainstream in Israel.
Jews have prayed for peace in Jerusalem for millennia. Peace should always be a national goal for Israel. The problem is the way that the so-called peace process has been handled since Oslo.
Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu comes closest to getting it right. You don't make concessions without reciprocal moves. Both sides have to be held accountable and both sides have to live up to their commitments. Both sides have to recognize the other and both sides have to compromise. Only then can a peace process work.
The problem is that the Palestinians have never lived up to their commitments and have never been held accountable. They still don't recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Finally, as I point out in this post there is no willingness to compromise at all. Until that changes a peace process won't work.
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