President Abbas of the Palestine Authority spoke to reporters for 2 hours yesterday, expounding his take on President Trump’s decision to move the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.
President Abbas described Trump’s decision as a “slap of the century” and added that he would not discuss or accept any peace plans from the US after it recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Abbas continues to accuse Israel of destroying the Oslo Accords that began a session of peace talks in 1995.
President Trump has stated that if the Palestinians do not continue peace talks, he will cut off their US aid. Trump already stated in 2017 that he wants to remove Jerusalem as an issue in the peace talks. His one-sided decision forced Abbas to realize that Trump is favorable to the Israeli’s and therefore not partial to a balanced peace negotiation process.
Let’s take a realistic view of the area, starting with the history and moving up to the formation of the Palestine Authority and its split (Gaza-Hamas, West Bank- PA).
Historically, the strip of land we now call Israel is mentioned in the Bible as being the land that God promised the children of Israel (Jacob). It was originally populated by various tribes including the Philistines, which were a seafaring nation situated along the southern coast around Ashkelon to Yaffo, and the Phoenicians that were situated along the northern coast starting from Acre (Acco). The rest of the area was populated by tribes, each with their own “king.” After the conquest of the territories by the Israelites, the area continued to be war-torn between the pressures of Egypt and the various kingdoms surrounding them including the Hittites, Moabites, Phoenicians, Philistines, Assyria, and Babylon. After this came the Greeks, Syrians (Greek influence after Alexander’s death), and Egypt (Ptolemy). Then a few years later came the Romans. The Romans lost the land to the rise of Islam and ever since it has been contested by the various rulers of the Islamic empires with a brief respite during the crusades. The Ottoman Empire finally rested control, and it remained under Turkish control till WWI, when the British took it and made it into a British Mandate. The British and French created a map that detailed the various controlling factions that would be put in place after the British and French left the area. This happened after WWII. They had left plans for a new kingdom to arise called Jordan, set the borders from Syria and Lebanon and created a border between Israel and the local Arab population called Palestine.
All this would have worked out had not the Arabs banded together and attacked the newly recognized State of Israel in 1948. This attack was their decision to try and wipe out the newly formed Jewish State that arose from the ashes of the holocaust as well as the thousand-year history that the Jews have with the Land of Israel and Judah.
While I do not disclaim the right of any people to demand independence, I do condemn the acts of violence aimed at the Jewish people in Israel by the Muslim world, which has been going on hundreds of years, well before the declaration of the State of Israel. Had not the Arab world tried to fight in 1948, there would be either a status quo and great commercial tradeoff between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine that might have lasted well into the future. However, this was not the case, and after the Arabs failed in their attempt, the State of Israel was formed and held its right to be a State from both legislation as well winning the war.
There have been many more wars since then, and continuous Palestinian terror attacks against children and families that have taken lives over the last 60 years from the formation of the State. Palestinian attacks on Jews in the area were commonplace well before the formation of the State of Israel, and there are many documented cases of mass slaughters of Jewish populations throughout the centuries documented in Arab annals as well as recent cases reported in the press in the early 20th century. Therefore, blaming Islamic terrorism on the formation of the State of Israel is another falsehood being sold to the world. Another more recent issue is the Mufti of Jerusalem actively participating in talks with Adolph Hitler and what would be done with the Jews in the British Mandate if the Germans invaded.
Peace has constantly been negotiated, but the Palestinians demand the right to call Jerusalem their capital, which is problematic since it is also the capital of the State of Israel. This actually might not be such a big issue if the future would hold true peace. History has shown us that every concession that has been given to the Palestinians led to more bloodshed and violence, and more demands.
One interesting fact is how the world views the situation, where the Palestinians create fake news and videos on a constant basis to show how bad the Israeli’s are, where in fact the continuous murder of innocent children is performed only by Palestinians. Another falsehood is comparing the State of Israel to Apartheid, which is absurd since Israelis’ do not cordon off Arabs, nor segregate them from mainstream life. Cities such as Haifa, Acre, Lod, Yaffo, and Jerusalem have large Arab populations that work and live alongside Israelis, and you find Israeli Arab and Palestinian professionals working together, such as Physicians, Lawyers, Nurses, and Engineers as well as Arabs in the Israeli Police, Border Police, and Army.
One interesting fact was when the Israeli government decided to allow the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) back into the country acting as an interim leader for the formation of the Palestine Authority; they made their biggest mistake. The PLO was a terrorist organization that did not represent the Palestinian people. There was a group of political activists in the country, headed by some of the prestigious Palestinian families that should have been given recognition. The State of Israel should have taken away the PLO’s bite by allowing the formation of a PA using conservative and liberal leaders that did it use violence as a means of negotiation. The fact that the Israeli; authorities let the PLO under Yasser Arafat into their country is the same as being the frog on the scorpion.
The PA is headed by Abbas, a PLO activist that cannot think in rational terms and cannot lead his people to the formation of a nation. In fact, it was during Abba’s reign that he lost Gaza to the Hamas, a religious, political party that does not recognize Israel‘s right to exist and is funded and headed by outcasts living in the Sultanate of Oman.
Another issue that has to be looked at is where all has all the money donated to the PA gone? All the billions that the world has pledged and transferred to the PA? With that much money you would expect to see amazing infrastructure and technological advancements, but instead, you see the same situation, although if you check the bank accounts of the leaders, you will see that they are well padded.
The issue of Jewish Settlements is perhaps the cornerstone of today’s peace talks, where religion is the force behind the issue. When religion comes into discussions, rational thought leaves the room. Decisions are made on perceptions of reality and logic is distorted. That is what the peace process is really not happening, ever, and why Trump is justified in shaking up the situation. The only way the Middle East will progress is by “shaking the tree,” and this is what is happening with Trump’s agreement to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. This is not his decision, it was already formulated in the Reagan era, where congress voted this move, but it required the Presidents Authorization Now the President has authorized it, so it’s only a matter of time when it will happen, and it will happen.
Change is painful, but it is better than status quo, especially when the Status quo involves continuous bloodshed. As one Presidential aide (Israel’s President) stated; “If the Palestinians think that Israel must give back Jerusalem and even the whole country to its previous owners then it should bring back the British since they owned it before Israel. If they want to go back before that, then it should go to Turkey, Italy, Syria, Greece, Iraq (Babylon, Assur) and then Israel. Since there was never a Palestinian nation or kingdom or anything Palestinian here before.”
Bottom Line
The Palestinians have every right to their own state and independence, the problem is in the leadership and the religious motivation that warps decisions as well as proves that what is signed today will be ignored tomorrow, the same way Neville Chamberlain waived his famous white paper of peace, and we all know what that led to.
Add to that this picture of Arab education, where children are taught at an early age to become Jihad Suicide bombers and you cannot expect peace to emerge until education teaches children patience, understanding and dialog, not violence and religious zealousness.
