Anyone Surprised? With Their Repeated Rejections, Palestinians Risk Total Irrelevance - by Aaron Kliegman

By refusing to improve their society or compromise on any peace initiative with Israel, the Palestinians are risking total irrelevance. The Arabs, the media, many Western elites—traditional allies of, or voices sympathetic to the Palestinians are more indifferent about the Palestinian plight than ever before. Observing rejection after rejection is draining, eventually numbing one to the whole situation. The true victims are the Palestinian children, whose parents and leaders—not the Israelis—have created for them a future of hate, despair, and hopelessness. And much of the world has become too apathetic to care. The Palestinians have no one to blame but themselves.

Aaron Kliegman..
Washington Beacon..
29 June '19..

Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, shocked Jewish leaders at a closed-door meeting in New York last year. "In the last several decades, the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all the peace proposals it was given," said bin Salman, according to press reports. "It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining." The future king even said that the Palestinian issue was not a top priority for the Saudis, adding that Saudi Arabia "has much more urgent and important issues to deal with" in the Middle East.

Less than two years earlier, in the same city, then-President Barack Obama devoted just one sentence of his last speech before the United Nations General Assembly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One sentence was still more than the year before, when, for the first time since becoming president, Obama did not even mention the conflict during his annual speech at the United Nations. Compare that with Obama's first three speeches before the General Assembly—in 2009, 2010, and 2011—in which he focused 10 percent, 23 percent, and 18 percent of his lengthy remarks, respectively, on the peace process. The drop-off is striking.

The cases of bin Salman and Obama represent the growing indifference of two pro-Palestinian groups—the Arab leadership and the Western, liberal elite—to the Palestinians being stateless and underdeveloped. The two cases also serve as microcosms of a larger trend: the world growing increasingly apathetic about the Palestinian plight, with traditionally sympathetic voices less interested in trying to help—save for the radicals of the Western progressive movement, who have an irrational hatred of Israel, and perhaps some Arab populations. One reason for this trend is the surge in chaos across the Middle East unrelated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A belligerent Iran on the march, the Islamic State wreaking havoc, the war in Syria showing the depths of humanity's cruelty—how much attention can political leaders give to the Palestinians with such priorities in the Middle East? But the other reason, which is hard for pro-Palestinians voices to acknowledge, is the stubbornness, the rejectionism, the Jew-hatred, and anti-Semitism of the Palestinians themselves.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Journalistic Amnesia? The Bahrain Conference and the Big Omission - by Sean Durns

...some Arab officials who decided to attend the Bahrain Conference did what the Palestinian leadership has been unable to. As Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told Israeli journalist Barak Ravid: “Israel is a country in the Middle East. Israel is part of this heritage of this whole region historically. So the Jewish people have a place amongst us.” Al Khalifa was acknowledging the past while looking towards the future. The pundits writing about future Israeli-Palestinian peace endeavors should do the same.

Sean Durns..
Algemeiner..
28 June '19..

Reporters writing about the latest Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative seem to have amnesia. Curiously, the press and pundits pontificating about the Bahrain Conference have largely omitted the history of earlier failed proposals. Perhaps this is because those failures raise uncomfortable truths.

On June 25, the Trump administration presented part of its plan for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. The long-awaited proposal, formally unveiled at a conference in Bahrain, envisions $50 billion in regional investment projects over a period of ten years.

Entitled “From Peace to Prosperity,” the plan seeks to encourage Palestinian economic growth by opening up the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), which is ruled by the Palestinian Authority (PA) — and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Fatah rival Hamas — to development. The proposal emphasizes regional integration, private sector growth, and improvements to healthcare, infrastructure, and education as means of improving the quality of life for Palestinians.

Both Fatah, the movement that controls the PA, and the terror group Hamas have rejected the plan. In fact, both groups opposed the plan long before its details were announced, as the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) highlighted previously.

PA officials boycotted the Bahrain Conference, although some Palestinian businessmen and officials from several Arab countries did participate. Many in the press, however, chose to focus on the boycotters, while minimizing the participants.

The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Foreign Policy Magazine, and others reported on the PA’s refusal to participate, but failed to note that it was in keeping with a long history of Palestinians rejecting opportunities for peace.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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What exactly Fatah is and why its threats are significant - by Stephen M. Flatow

On June 16, Fatah posted on its official Facebook page a large photo of a masked Palestinian about to throw a rock—that is, about to attempt to stone a Jew to death.

Stephen M. Flatow..
JNS.org..
27 June '19..

A few days before the Bahrain conference opened, U.S. envoy Jason Greenblatt took to Twitter to issue this cry of alarm: “Fatah is calling for violence against Israelis as an act of protest. Despicable. Fatah seeks violence over the idea of exploring peace & prosperity for the Palestinian people.”

By now, much of the public probably has forgotten what exactly Fatah is and why its threats are significant. It’s worth a reminder.

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Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He is the author of “A Father’s Story: My Fight for Justice Against Iranian Terror.”

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Absolutely! Bring on Bahrain! - by Oded Revivi

What threatens the Palestinian leadership is not what threatens the average Palestinian—and that is why the Bahrain workshop is so threatening to the P.A.

Oded Revivi..
JNS.org..
26 June '19..

Albert Einstein is widely credited with saying that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Yet that is exactly what the professional diplomatic community has demanded regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Not surprisingly then, the past few decades have seen us move further away from a comprehensive resolution to the conflict.

The Trump administration, on the other hand, has made a concerted attempt to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, as demonstrated by those spearheading its diplomatic efforts, who come from the world of business and eschew the more accepted methods of international diplomacy.

Critics ridicule them, saying “this is not some real estate deal.” And while it is much more than a property dispute, this is an amusing critique coming from those who have focused so much on territorial boundaries and borders while ignoring the conflict’s core undercurrents.

As an Israeli mayor governing in these disputed territories, I and my constituents have much to gain from the economic workshop currently taking place in Bahrain. My Palestinian neighbors have even more to gain. And both of us would also be the most direct beneficiaries of a comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Yet, after rejecting multiple offers to create a Palestinian state, Palestinian Authority leaders have made a calculated decision to avoid negotiations altogether. While the merits of that decision can be debated, it should not be used as a pretext to prevent Palestinians from improving their lives, even if they do not know what national passports they will ultimately carry.

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Oded Revivi is the Mayor of Efrat and the Chief International Envoy of the YESHA Council, representing the 450,000 Israelis living throughout Judea and Samaria.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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The Reality? There Won’t Be Peace Until the Palestinians Accept Israel - by Harold Ohayon

The reality of the situation is that this conflict will not end until the Palestinians wake up from their maximalist dreams and realize they will never replace Israel.

Harold Ohayon..
Algemeiner..
25 June '19..

Amnesia and willful ignorance seem to be running amok in today’s political arena, especially when it comes to Israel and the Palestinians — mostly due to the desperation for a peace agreement. And it is in this environment that we were introduced to President Trump’s plan to alleviate the economic hardships facing the Palestinian people.

But the uncomfortable reality of the situation is that the conflict is not about economics. Nor is it about two states. This festering conflict fails to cease because one side absolutely refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of the other.

Even before being presented with the US plan, the Palestinians rejected it outright. They did not know any details, nor did they come to the table with any counter-proposals. They simply rejected it, just as they rejected the peace plans presented by former Israeli leaders Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert.

And they will continue to reject any proposal that will end the conflict — because right now, they do not want it to end.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Like to know the real reason the Palestinians are refusing to attend the Bahrain conference? - by Lt. Col. (Res) Maurice Hirsch

The conference will focus on the economic development of the Palestinians, and not the P.A. In doing so, the plan clearly, albeit not explicitly, reflects the reality that the P.A. and PLO no longer represent all of the Palestinians. The plan also clearly reflects that the Trump administration is questioning what happened to the billions of dollars of international aid that have been pumped into the P.A. over the past two and half decades. This is the worst nightmare of the P.A. and PLO and the real reason they refuse to participate in the conference.

Lt. Col. (Res) Maurice Hirsch..
JNS.org..
24 June '19..

Both the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority are boycotting the U.S.-initiated economic conference that starts tomorrow in Manama, Bahrain. While they would like to believe that their absence undermines the legitimacy and essence of the conference—promoting Palestinian economic development—the truth of the matter is that their absence is probably the only opportunity to achieve results.

At one time the P.A. and PLO were potentially important actors in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Today there is no question that they represent a small and ever shrinking percentage of the Palestinians.

Their participation in the Bahrain conference would contribute nothing of substance. While the world has developed in the past few decades, the P.A. and PLO have stayed the same, rejecting offer after offer to resolve the conflict once and for all.

While trying to create the impression that the P.A. and PLO rejection of the Trump administration’s economic plan is a result of their principled fight for the interests of the Palestinian people, the truth is that their goals are simply to stay in power and promote the elimination of Israel.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. 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.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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