If you were to get all your information about the Middle East from either president Obama or the main stream media, you would know that the biggest problem preventing resolution of the Arab Israeli confrontation is the intransigence of the current Israeli government that does things like approve construction of new settlements that are illegal under international law. Indeed, if you limited your information intake to those sources, you would think that Israel was just trampling down the the possibility of making peace with its Palestinian negotiating partner. Of course, you would be wrong.
The real problem is the intransigence of the Palestinians who are totally disinterested in making any deal with Israel. Here is an example: Today is election day in Israel. After voting at his polling place near Jerusalem, prime minister Netanyahu went to the Western Wall and said a prayer. For those of you who do not know, the Wall is the remnant of the ancient Jewish temple which was destrolyed by the Romans in the first century. It is the holiest site in all of Judaism. It is also one side of the Temple mount which is where the al Aksa Mosque is located. So today, after Netanyahu went to the Wall to say a prayer, the chief Palestinian "negotiator" issued a statement calling that visit a "provocation" by Netanyahu that "soiled" a holy site. Imagine Republicans issuing a statement condemning president Obama for visiting the Lincoln memorial and soiling that site. The Palestinians' statement is even worse.
Of course, there is no coverage in the American media of this latest statement. After all, it does not make the Palestinians look reasonable and it does not hurt the Israelis.
The real problem is the intransigence of the Palestinians who are totally disinterested in making any deal with Israel. Here is an example: Today is election day in Israel. After voting at his polling place near Jerusalem, prime minister Netanyahu went to the Western Wall and said a prayer. For those of you who do not know, the Wall is the remnant of the ancient Jewish temple which was destrolyed by the Romans in the first century. It is the holiest site in all of Judaism. It is also one side of the Temple mount which is where the al Aksa Mosque is located. So today, after Netanyahu went to the Wall to say a prayer, the chief Palestinian "negotiator" issued a statement calling that visit a "provocation" by Netanyahu that "soiled" a holy site. Imagine Republicans issuing a statement condemning president Obama for visiting the Lincoln memorial and soiling that site. The Palestinians' statement is even worse.
Of course, there is no coverage in the American media of this latest statement. After all, it does not make the Palestinians look reasonable and it does not hurt the Israelis.
No comments:
Post a Comment