palestinian bid for freedom dead in the water

COMMENT

Yesterday, to fanfare and ridicule in equal measure, Mahmoud Abbas (peace be upon him)laid his doomed plan for statehood before the general assembly at the UN. Doomed, of course, because America's position, regardless of who happens to occupy the White House, is to support Israel, right or wrong. Learned observers of the scene have suggested that Palestine's bid is premature because "there is no peace yet". And whose fault is that exactly? Not the Israelis, apparently.

In his speech, Mr Netenyahu (and has there ever been a cleverer and more charismatic Israeli leader than this guy?) painted his country as seeking peace in the face of implacable opposition from the Arabs. "The solution has to be negotiated" he intoned, but the fact is that every time peace talks have been attempted, whether in the open or behind closed doors, as has been revealed by the Wikileaks documents, while the Palestinians were prepared to make enormous concessions, even to the point of tolerating the illegal settlements, the Israelis remained completely intransigent, not even promising to slow the rate of building on the West Bank.

Let me say this loud and clear: Netenyahu's speech was a disgraceful tissue of lies, designed (and probably successful in its aim) to marginalise a whole population and reject its legitimate demands to enjoy the same human rights as their Israeli occupiers.

Palestine's bid for statehood will fail, and indeed may not actually be the best solution anyway. Bob Fisk, as wise an old owl as has ever surveyed that immensely complex anthill which is the Middle East, has suggested that the only real and lasting solution lies in a single state of Greater Israel, where all sides live together enjoying equal rights, equal freedom of movement and self determination. For that to happen the Palestinians must accept the state of Israel's right to exist, which means somehow putting a stop to the radical, and wholly unrealistic demands of Hamas. Unfortunately, however, every new brutality enacted by the Israelis simply strengthens, rather than weakens, Hamas's hand...