Posted 10/09/2003 12:07:00 PM by Ocean Guy
Negotiation or Appeasement

So... there is a group of Israeli's from the left engaged in secret talks with palestinians about a Final Status Agreement. That's not necessarily a bad thing, negotiating with the PLO, but history ought to teach us to be cautious. Especially in the case of the Arabs.

It will be wrong to enter any agreement without getting real assurances that the Arabs will in fact live as peaceful neighbors. It's not unreasonable to doubt their intention. There is absolutley NO evidence that the PLO, or any other Arabs, want to live peacefully side-by-side with Israel. It's also entirely reasonable to doubt that a sovereign PLO can run a nation. There is more to worry about.

The mere fact that Arafat and his gang are dealing secretly behind the Israeli government's back ought to give even the most hopeful peaceniks reason for pause. If it's true that the Israeli government didn't know about this, then the actions of Beilin are practically criminal. What part of the US Government encouraged these subversive meetings? It's bad precedent to deal with terrorists and their partners on the left while they work contrary to our ally's government. The whole thing makes me cringe.

Here's an exerpt from the report:

A group of left-wing Israeli politicians led by former justice minister Yossi Beilin has been meeting for the past year with senior Palestinians in an attempt to reach an outline for a final status agreement between the sides, the ynet website reported today. A high-level meeting will be held this weekend in Jordan to finalize the accords. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lashed out at left-wingers who were coordinating actions with the Palestinians behind the government's back.

The agreements, based on meetings that have taken place in Switzerland among other places, have come to be known as the "Swiss Accords," ynet reported, and were reached with the knowledge and support of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. One of the senior officials representing the Palestinians was former information minister Yasser Abed Rabbo...

...The meetings between the Israeli and Palestinian officials were held with the knowledge of Arafat, Abu Mazen and new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala). The meetings were financed by the Swiss, the European Union, Japan and the United States, ynet reported.

The final approval of the agreement between the sides was delayed several times due to a number of reservations on crucial points. The agreement's organizers plan to market the agreement to the Israeli public as an alternative to government policy and to prove that Israel does have a Palestinian partner in the quest for peace.