By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, GATESTONE-—
The Arab League foreign ministers who met with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington last week were convinced that they had a mandate from the Palestinians to talk about possible land swaps between Israel and a future Palestinian state.
Ahead of their departure to the US, the ministers had met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Doha, Qatar, and discussed with him the land swap idea.
At the meeting, the Arab League decided to dispatch a high-level delegation to Washington to brief the US Administration on the Arab position regarding the resumption of peace talks with Israel. Headed by Qatar’s Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani, the delegation which met with Kerry also consisted of Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki.
Yet the Palestinians seemed to be surprised, following the meeting with Kerry, to hear the Qatari representative talk about possible land swaps between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Authority’s initial response was to issue a statement in English — not Arabic — voicing support for the land trade proposal. The statement said that this was an old idea that had been discussed in the past between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.
But following strong condemnations from many Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority leadership took a step backwards.
First, the Palestinian Authority said that it was only prepared to discuss “minor” adjustments to the border between Israel and a future Palestinian state.
Later, as the denunciations grew, the Palestinian Authority took yet another step backwards, saying it was opposed to making any “down payments” to Israel before the peace talks resumed.
In other words, the Palestinian Authority is not prepared to talk about any territorial concessions to Israel before the Israeli government accepts the pre-1967 lines as the basis for a two-state solution.
Palestinian reactions to the land swap proposal seem to have angered Qatar and other Arab countries.
With the exception of a few Palestinian Authority officials, all Palestinian factions have come out strongly against the proposal. The anger has been directed especially against Qatar.
“Who gave the Qatari leaders the right to offer concessions to Israel on behalf of the Palestinians?” was the main charge leveled against the rulers in Doha.
Other Palestinians, including top members of Abbas’s Fatah faction in the West Bank, have also lashed out at the Arab ministers for “offering free concessions” to Israel on behalf of the Palestinians.
Although the Palestinian Authority leadership had in the past hinted that it would be willing to accept the land swap idea, it is now obvious that it would never be able to win the Palestinians’ support for such a proposal.
As leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian groups emphasized over the past few days, no Palestinian leader has a mandate to make any concessions to Israel.
Even worse, the Arab League proposal is being viewed by many Arabs and Palestinians as part of an “American-Zionist conspiracy” to force the Palestinians to accept Israeli “dictates.”
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank seem to have absorbed the message and are now back to demanding a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, which were never official borders.
For Kerry, who has taken it upon himself to try to resume the peace process, this is all bad news.
It is bad news that the Palestinian Authority still does not have the courage to tell the Palestinians that without some form of compromise there will never be real peace with Israel.
It is bad news because it has once again become clear that the Arab countries, including the wealthiest and most influential, have no influence on the Palestinians.
Judging from their reactions to the land swap idea, many Palestinians continue to despise the Arab regimes, accusing them of serving as pawns in the hands of the US and Israel.
The US Administration needs to understand that the Arab League is an incompetent and ineffectual body that has long been ridiculed by most Arabs. This is a body that has never played an instrumental role in solving Arab crises such as the Lebanese Civil War, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait or the ongoing bloodshed in Syria.
It now remains to be seen whether Kerry and President Barack Obama will ever notice that they are betting on the wrong horses. Neither the Arab League nor the Palestinian Authority leadership has a mandate to offer any concessions to Israel or recognize its right to exist.
“The angel of the Lord said to [Hagar]:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward[b] all his brothers.” [Genesis 16:12]
The G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, “Changes not” [Malachi 3:6]; He is the “same yesterday, today and forever” [Hebrews 13:8]; “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my WORD shall not pass away” [Matthew 24:35]. “I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place”[Matthew 24:34].
When we re-view the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Christian Scriptures, we KNOW that the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ALWAYS said what He meant, and He meant what He said. So, in His description of the traits and personality of Ishmael are to this very day as accurate as they were 4000 years ago! And if G-d’s WORD is that accurate about Ishmael, then IMO, G-d’s WORD is that accurate about to which peoples He gave the land to, which peoples were to be driven out, where He would place His Name [on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem], and etc.
The G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also instructed:
Deut. 4:2…..“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 12:32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.”
Revelation 22:18-19 “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
Psalm 14.1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”. What say you, the reader of this comment?
Moll- This is a great reply. I have written the Scripture down. It is sad that this administration along with a vast number of Christians in the US are clueless. Maranatha
The Palestinian response is to be expected. They have no intention of sharing the land with Israel and to quote many of their leaders Palestine will be “from the river (Jordan) to the sea (The Med.)” and their maps show no Israel. Recently reading book by Bill Salus, “Psalm 83″ and notice that in Ez. 38 & 39 the neighboring countries around Israel are not listed in Ezekial. After reading this article I wonder if it is possible that the vision of Psalm 83 will take place before the Gog Magog invasion. Will they never learn that whatever they throw at Israel Yahweh lobs back at them and Israel continues to grow. Keep looking up folks, He is coming soon”. Praise Yahweh!!!
Well spoken Moll and I agree, but Christians still eat pork, shellfish & labor on Shabbat per Deuteronomy 13. They also pit Jesus’ “grace” against Yehovah’s justice, never rightly-dividing Torah or their scriptures. Because Christians add to & subtract from Yehovah’s Word to create their theology, the world has over 3,000 denominations and the Obama Administration can follow any one of them, considering themselves to be Christians. IF the Elect cannot be lead astray (Matt 24:24, Mark 13:22), what does that say of “Christianity” since Constantine? Matthew 7:23 I know of Christian Pastors who boast in eating pork, lobster & octopus and of laboring on the Sabbath – in the face of Jews, to emphasize that they are set apart & free of Yehovah’s Instructions.
Whenever Yehovah reestablishes the year of Jubilee, all the Land will revert back to Israel; may it be soon & very soon. Come Mashiyakh ben Da’vid.