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David Vance is the editor of , an online Unionist newsletter that seeks to help maintain Northern Ireland as an integral part of the United Kingdom.
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By David Vance
March 11, 2003
"The only 'ism' that has ever justified itself is pessimism." George Orwell's prescient observation can be applied to the political prospects facing Israel in 2003. At a time when a U.S.-led attack on Iraq is imminent and when the specter of international terrorism is finally being confronted, it is disheartening to listen to the noises emanating from the much-vaunted "Quartet."
According to reports carried in the British press, the draft blueprint being floated by the Quartet will require Israel to accept the creation of an independent Palestinian state within one year. The suggestion is that Israel will be asked to agree, in principle, to this neighboring state before the two sides resolve any of the pivotal issues that have prevented any agreement being reached to date.
Put another way, Israel is being asked to accept a mutant state as a neighbor founded on the most heinous terrorism imaginable before negotiations even begin! What possible prospect of peace can this perverse deal bring about?
Empty promises and unfulfilled pledges have characterized Palestinian negotiations to date and yet the UN, EU and Russia appear quite content to settle for more of the same, dressed up in the pretentious patois of trans-globalism. That the UN/EU/Russian trio barely conceals its contempt for Israel and its admiration for Arafat is a matter of record. Having bankrolled Palestinian terror for so many years, it is predictable that they continue to lobby for them. The U.S.A. is different and has no business going along with this corrupt plan to reward Palestinian juvenility.
A central dynamic behind this plan is the European Union power block, including Britain. Prime Minister Tony Blair, already under huge pressure for supporting the U.S.A. from his rabidly pro-Palestinian parliamentary party, has identified that some of this political pressure can be relieved if he plays the Palestinian card. Bashing Israel always wins approval from the anti-Semites that infest the British left and Blair has previously proven that he has few scruples on this particular issue. The "Old European" powers such as France and Germany have such a deplorable record in their dealings with Israel that no-one can imagine that they have the best interests of the Israeli people at heart.
The current mood amongst much of the British intelligentsia is that the looming war against Iraq is really a diversion from the most pressing problem in the Middle East - namely the plight of the oppressed Palestinian people. Israel is presented as the root cause of this problem rather than the victim of malignant Palestinian terrorism. The solution being devised rewards Palestinian violence, so encouraging Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other terror groups to slaughter even more innocents.
The moral malaise underlying this plan is unheeded in Europe. The desire to forge a Palestinian state that will be a super breeder for terrorism directed at Israel knows no limit. It does not matter that many Palestinians show no concern for the sanctity of human life. It does not matter that most Palestinians support Saddam, Osama and every other two bit tyrant in the region. All that matters is teaching Israel a tough lesson - that it has no right to exist.
The quadrille being played by the "Quartet" is heavily loaded against Israel. The Palestinians have comprehensively demonstrated that they are unfit to possess a state of their own until they first disown all forms of terrorism and prove they can live peacefully side by side with their Israeli neighbors. Only then should any debate about the future be considered. When Saddam Hussein's vile regime is crushed in the weeks ahead the Palestinians will have their own unique roadmap showing the fate that awaits those who resolutely adopt terrorism.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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