It is obvious that the Palestinians will not achieve the legal stamp of statehood when they turn up at the United Nations on September 20. They are aware that, despite having the bulk of the votes in the General Assembly, their statehood bid will fail with an American veto in the Security Council. So, why are they going?First, we must hope they don't achieve any legal stamps; the Obama administration is not to be trusted here even now to take Israel's side. Now, onto the answer to the question presented:
They are going for two reasons.Let's also ponder the very likely possibility that Abbas will be more than willing to impose sharia upon any district ceded to him, just like the Hamas is already doing in Gaza.
What they want to achieve from their UN tactics is, firstly, to win the consensus of widely covered international recognition for their cause of a state within 1967 borders and with Jerusalem as their capital. Although the phrase “mutually agreed land swops” is often included in this formula this has no relevance in Palestinian intentions with regard to Jerusalem.
The simple understanding of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders will be the cause of a prolonged public opinion campaign to force Israel into conceding to indefensible borders. Failure to comply with this will make Israel appear to be the ongoing obstacle to peace.
By placing Jerusalem as their Palestinian capital on the public record they will attempt to pull the rug out of Israel’s cherished position that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of Israel.
The majority of those that will vote in favour of this proposal know the radical implications of this resolution. Those who are ignorant of the significance of 1967 lines need to be reminded that this would include Israel being forced to cede to the Palestinians such valuable real estate assets as The Temple Mount, The Wailing Wall, The Hurva Synagogue, The Jewish Quarter of the Old City, The Rockefeller Museum, Hadassah Hospital, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Room of the Last Supper, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Perhaps the Hebrew University, which also falls within the 67 boundaries, will be renamed “the Islamic University”?
Update: here's more important news about this on Forbes (via Hot Air Headlines).
Update 2: and while we're on the subject, here's another important item from Alan Caruba:
Last week, Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced that the Palestinian Authority would not make a bid for statehood at the United Nations. That may have had something to do with massive pressure from the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia.That's something to think about. Erdogan could be preparing for war with Greece, to violently take over Cyprus for starters, and encouraged Abbas on his part to take offensive actions that would coincide.
You can always trust a Palestinian’s word, right? Wrong. The next day, September 15, Abbas said the PA had changed its mind and would go to the UN Security Councilto ask that it grant statehood to Palestine, admitting it as a full-fledged member.
He must have gotten a call from Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogen, who has been spoiling for a war with Israel and has been urging the Arab League to join in. It might have something to do with Erdogen’s beef with Greece that announced that it will begin drilling for natural gas on Monday, September 19, in Cyprus’s offshore Aphrodite field. The Turkish air force has been watching the rig, owned by Houston-based Noble Energy, move from Israel to Cyprus.
This is probably as good a way to start World War Three as any. It has nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with the decades of bad blood between Greece and Turkey that includes a divided Cyprus.
Should this come to a vote in the Security Council I suspect the U.S. will veto the resolution. At least I hope this is the case. The arabs brought this West Bank situation on themselves when they blockaded the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba in 1967, thereby shuting down the Israel port city of Elat. Had that stood Israeli ships bound for India and port east would have to sailed from Med. ports out into the Atlantic and then down and around the Cape of Good Hope---something that was not practical.
ReplyDeleteI could go on, but a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is totally unexceptable to Israel and drawing the borderline on the Jordan river would leave the Jewish state in a terrible position.
I just noticed your link to my Obama Cartoon site--thanks!