Richman - What Happened Before Nothing Happened?

Rick Richman
Commentary/Contentions
02 October '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/10/02/palestinian-state-israel/

In an interview Friday with Al-Hayat TV, Hillary Clinton said she and Barack Obama “very much want to see a Palestinian state” – noting she first endorsed one in 1998 – but said she knows “it’s hard for [the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table] because they feel like they’ve been at this for a while and nothing has happened.” Actually quite a lot happened in the decade after Hillary first endorsed a Palestinian state:

(1) In 2000, the Palestinians were offered a state by Israel, and turned it down; (2) in 2001, the Palestinians rejected the Clinton Parameters; (3) in 2002, the U.S. endorsed a Palestinian state if the Palestinians built a practicing democracy (today the putative state is ruled half by a terrorist group and half by a party that hasn’t held an election in nearly six years); (4) in 2003, the Palestinians accepted the Roadmap but have yet to complete any of its three phases; (5) in 2004, Israel adopted a plan to hand over Gaza to the Palestinians; (6) in 2005, Israel removed every settler and soldier from Gaza, which the Palestinians turned into Hamastan in one week; (7) in 2006, the Palestinians elected a terrorist group to control their legislature; (8) in 2007, the U.S. convened the Annapolis conference to “accelerate” the Roadmap; (9) in 2008, after a year of final status negotiations, the Palestinians rejected still another Israeli offer of a state; and (10) in 2009, Israel offered the Palestinians negotiations again, which they refused, and initiated an unprecedented construction moratorium, which they ignored.

But Hillary is correct: nothing has happened since then.

If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.
.