Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Friday 17 February 2017

David Singer: Bush, Obama, Russia, EU and UN buried under Trump Landslide

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Trump has buried the Bush Roadmap and any lingering hope for the creation of a second Arab State (“the two-state solution”) – in addition to Jordan – in the territory designated under the 1922 Mandate for Palestine.

This inevitability follows Trump’s failure at a White House joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 15 February to reaffirm the written commitments made by President Bush to Israel in his letter dated 14 April 2004 – overwhelmingly endorsed by the Congress by 502 votes to 12 (“Bush Congress-Endorsed Commitments”).

President Bush had been urged to do so just the day before by veteran US peace negotiator Dennis Ross – who stated it would have: 
“significant implications, both because it was recognizing settlement blocs referred to in the letter as major population centers, but also because it said that no agreement can involve going back to the 1949 Armistice lines or the equivalent of June 4, 1967.” 
Similar calls had also been made by:
* Michael Oren - Israel’s former Ambassador to Washington and currently Deputy Minister in Netanyahu’s Prime Minister’s office
* Tzipi Livni – former Israeli Foreign Minister who had led negotiations for Israel with the Palestinian Authority in the peace talks brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry from July 2013 until April 2014.
* Danny Ayalon – Former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister.
Former Israeli United Nations ambassador and until recently the Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry,  Dore Gold, had been concerned as far back as 9 June 2009 that President Obama was not going to reaffirm the Bush Congress-Endorsed Commitments:
"For example, it still needs to be clarified whether the Obama administration feels bound by the April 14, 2004, Bush letter to Sharon on defensible borders and settlement blocs, which was subsequently ratified by large bipartisan majorities in both the US Senate (95:3) and the House of Representatives (407:9) on June 23-24, 2004. Disturbingly, on June 1, 2009, the State Department spokesman, Robert Wood, refused to answer repeated questions about whether the Obama administration viewed itself as legally bound by the Bush letter. It would be better to obtain earlier clarification of that point, rather than having both countries expend their energies over an issue that may not be the real underlying source of their dispute."
Obama’s clarification never came.

Even Netanyahu – just before boarding a plane to see Obama in the White House in May 2011 – had said he expected: 
“to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of American commitments made to Israel in 2004 which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress.” 
Netanyahu never received that affirmation then – nor did he from Trump now.

Their reasons however are very different.

Obama proceeded to trash those commitments made with one of America’s closest allies with disastrous consequences for America’s foreign policy, its reputation and integrity.

Trump however had difficulty in reaffirming all of Bush’s commitments because one of them stated: 
“ the United States remains committed to my vision and to its implementation as described in the roadmap. The United States will do its utmost to prevent any attempt by anyone to impose any other plan” 
Trump doesn’t like long negotiations without any deal – and Trump wants to cut a deal.

Trump has accordingly ditched the Bush two-state solution – endorsed by Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. It now joins the diplomatic graveyard housing other two-state solutions proposed by
* the 1937 Peel Commission
* the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan,
* the 1993 Oslo Accords and
* Israel in 2000/2001 and 2008.
The Arabs have missed yet another opportunity to end the 100 years old Arab-Jewish conflict.

7 comments:

  1. David-

    Amidst all the gobble-gook written above, it sounds like you accept the fact that there will not be an Arab "Palestinian" [terrorist] state next to Israel thanks to the "Donald".

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    1. 24 hours is a long time in politics. What I can say now is what I said in the article - that the two-state solution posited by the Oslo Accords, the Bush Roadmap and the Bush Congress-endorsed commitments has now been buried with the other two-state solutions posited in 1937,1947,1993,2000/01 and 2008.

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  2. So...do you think this is a good thing, or bad? Many others believe the "two-state solution" has been the "walking dead" for many years. Thoughts on Yishai Fleisher's Op-Ed in the NY Times? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/a-settlers-view-of-israels-future.html

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    Replies
    1. My opinion does not really matter. I analyse events as they happen and try to respond as best I can to anyone who cares to comment on my own analysis.


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  3. I think the death of the 2-state solution is the best thing to happen since sliced bread!

    I am over the moon!

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  4. I think the death of the 2-state hoax and the end of the possibility of another Arab "Palestinian" terrorist state next to Israel is excellent and has been a long-time coming.

    I liked the article, although the Arab population number seems high (2.7 million).

    However, it shows what I have been saying. Which is that the 2-state solution has all but left the public discourse in a matter of weeks (since the Donald assumed office).

    Its a great thing and it is about time.

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  5. To me at least, it's adorable that the liberals and Democrats in the US are mad about nothing more than we all finally admit that THEY don't have veto power over another country. That's really what infuriates them. They don't care if their sacrosanct 'palestinians' get or don't get thing one. What gets them off the futon, dust the Cheetos off their chests and prompt them to march and scream in the streets is that WE don't take THEM as seriously as they do. They're not going to be consulted anymore.

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