The Amman fiasco
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The talks, dubbed as "exploratory" by some Palestinian Authority (PA) officials never really had the slightest chance of success, given Israel's determined and stubborn refusal to end her military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as well as allow for the repatriation of millions of uprooted Palestinians back to their homes and villages in what is called now "Israel."
These are the most elementary and minimalist Palestinian demands that must be met if a peace deal can ever be salvaged.
However, it is amply clear that the so-called peace talks are being held, not for the sake of pursuing genuine peace but rather for the sake of keeping the sides busy with something and also for the sake of satisfying demands by the Quartet which would like to have a feeling, however false and disingenuous, that some thing is going on and that the train of peace is not hopelessly stuck at station.
This is what the eternally and justifiably frustrated Palestinian negotiators are saying, namely that Israel, which never stops stealing Palestinian land and demolishing Palestinian homes, is not really seeking a dignified peace agreement but is rather trying to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
This is the message PA representatives got from the chief Zionist representative to the talks Yitzhak Molcho who briefed the Palestinians about Israel's vision of a final territorial "compromise" in the West Bank.
Palestinian sources described Molcho's ideas as "non-starter." However, the mere willingness of PA representatives, people like Sa'eb Erikat, to listen to Molcho may suggest a certain willingness on the part of the PA to abandon the key demand of withdrawal to the last centimeter of the West Bank.
Withdrawal from the entirety of the West Bank and East Jerusalem has always been a Palestinian constant enjoying broad national consensus.
According to Molcho's vision, Israel would keep and annex all Jewish colonies and colonialist outposts established ever since 1967. As to occupied East Jerusalem, the city would be part of Israel's "eternal and undivided" capital. However, if the Palestinian displayed some "good will," Israel would be magnanimous enough to allow Arabs and Muslims a limited access to the Muslim holy places at the Haram el Sharif of Jerusalem .
This is more or less the crux of the Israeli position and it is highly unlikely that the Benyamin Netanyahyu government, which is by far the most fascist and anti-peace government ever, would make serious "concessions" that might give the PA and desperate Arab mirage-chasers, such as the King of Jordan, as well as Quartet officials, a modicum of hope for salvaging a deal.
The Israelis realize that the Quartet is not in a position to pressure Israel to give real concessions for peace. Moreover, the American administration is facing an election year during which American presidential hopefuls are forced to choose between two unattractive choices as far as Israel is concerned, either they willfully transform themselves into real political prostitutes who must satisfy Israel's desires and whims, or commit political suicide.
An example of this political whoredom occurred recently when Republican hopeful Newt Gingrich referred to the Palestinians as an "invented people." The hopelessly ignorant "presidential" candidate utterly forgot the fact that in comparison to the Palestinian, the American people (with the exception of native Americans) is actually more than invented since most Americans are immigrants from around the world.
Gingrich's rival, Mitt Romney, would also indulge in similar verbal diarrhea, in order to please Israel and her powerful and rich circles in the States.
The same thing applies to incumbent Barack Obama who never misses a chance to heap praise on Israel, a state that deserves to be called a crime against humanity for the huge pain and monumental oppression it has inflicted on a helpless people whose only crime is that it doesn't belong to the holy tribe, the "master race" or Chosen people.
Hence, it is futile to really pin any hope on an American administration treating the Palestinians with any semblance of justice. The American political culture is simply too Machiavellian to produce principled and morally-guided presidents who would board the morality train, rather than the expediency train.
As to the EU, it is obvious that the maximum it can do wouldn't be enough to force Israel to accede to international demands or heed international laws. This means that the EU can only play a role complementary to the American role. Besides, there are certain European states such as Germany which are still burdened with and crippled by the holocaust legacy and can not really pursue a meaningful policy toward the Zionist regime which can lead to true peace.
The role Russians play within the Quartet is also secondary and symbolic despite the pro-Palestinian rhetoric that we keep hearing from Arabic-speaking Russian diplomats appearing on Arab and Russian TV networks.
In light, it is really hard to think of any reasonable chance for a true peace deal that would meet minimum Palestinian aspirations and enjoy the acceptance of a majority of Palestinians at home and in the Diaspora.
Instead, one is witnessing concerted and frantic Israeli efforts to impose the fait accompli on the Palestinians. According to this fait accompli, which Israel is seeking to perfect by building more settlements and expanding existing colonies, any prospective Palestinian state on the West Bank would cover only parts but not all of the occupied territory, with most of East Jerusalem remaining under occupation.
As to the right of return, it is likely that the two sides would agree to disagree on this paramount issue, but it remains to be seen whether the knotty issue would obstruct a possible partial agreement.
Obviously, the Palestinians don't have many alternative from which they can pick and choose.
However, it is essential the Palestinian leadership or leaderships not sacrifice Palestinian national constants for the sake of gaining favors and financial backing from the Americans and Europeans.
In the final analysis, the PA leadership should be able to "throw the keys" and abandon the goal of building a state.
I am saying this, because building a state per se has never been a paramount or central goal.
Indeed, in the various phases of their struggle, the Palestinians always wanted to liberate their usurped land from the sinful hands of international Zionism. And the last thing Palestinians, at home and in exile, would accept is getting a small part of their ancestral homeland in order to establish a state thereon in exchange for liquidating their cause and decapitating their historical rights, including the right of return?
| Haneyya embarks on second tour starting with Qatar | |
Gaza premier Ismail Haneyya left Gaza Strip on Monday to El Arish airport in Egypt from where he boarded a Qatari private jet en route to Doha. | |
Gul points to possible opening of Hamas office in Turkey | |
| Consultations are under way between Ankara and Hamas movement to open an office for the latter in Turkey, America press reports said. | |
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian 
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