Peace & Despair

Peace & Despair


Abbas demands final status talks or nothing as he heads to Egypt summit
(Via: Independent)

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, is demanding that next Monday's scheduled summit with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, contains a discussion over "final status" talks on a future Palestinian state, Palestinian officials said yesterday.
[..snip..]
Mr Abbas is reportedly insisting that the summit, hosted by Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak, will be fruitless if it does not set in train a process aimed at a final resolution of the key issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said: "We need to deliver the end of occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don't have hope, Hamas will export despair to the people."

People will despair without Hamas influence or them saying any word. No one likes the occupation, so why blaming Hamas in advance for failure? No one wants to negotiate with Hamas, so it's you, President (Abbas), the one setting in Zionist laps, and it's only your "illegal" government to blame from now on.

These days the media is full with columnists who echo brainless and racist condemnations of Palestinian actions, yet completely ignore the long-term efforts of Israel and US to undermine peace process and the rule of law. However, we can't blame the media only when we hear notes such as Mr. Erekat's.

It is difficult time for media and political leaders, who are struggling to reconcile commitment to peace and the rule of law with the Zionist demands for denial of the elected Palestinian government and its illegal "replacement" with an appointed government which follows the lines demanded by Israel.

It is hard to believe that anyone can see any way forward in the illegal actions of Abbas, even with the support of all those Arab, Israel, US and EU who are now claiming black is white and the elected government were trying to carry out a "coup" against those in armed rebellion, no one is giving an ear to Hamas views of the story or denying this "documented details 'U.S.' plan to sink Hamas.
It doesn't require great or significant or even average intellect connect with reality and see that while Israel fires rockets into Gaza, the media assault on the situation in Gaza and the Palestinians continues. Claiming the legality and rationality of Abbas actions in "sacking" the elected Palestinian government and replacing it with appointees, it hardly requires a lawyer to point out the illegality of what is happening and it doesn't require a rocket scientist to scorn the ludicrous claims that Israel will now be able to "negotiate" a solution with Abbas. Only an idiot could believe that.

What the world needs to know is that Israel should comply to international law over refugees, settlements and occupation, then only "negotiations" will be possible. Keeping in mind that without Bush's blessing, Abbas dreams can't come true and Israel will always refuse to comply with the law. But we all know who is Bush.

What is left? Sixty years of failure have clearly indicated that without pressure the international community, no one will ever find the courage or the integrity to bring peace. Couple of days ago, watching the press conference between Bush and Olmert, they talked about the "peace process" as if they wanted their listeners to believe it was now real "again".

Next time the US and Israel tries intimidation of Abbas's illegal government as they did with the legal one of Hamas, the boycott and starving the people into submission, will not work to get rid of them because they can't call these "terrorists" (again) because of their refusal to accept Israeli defiance of international law. Can they? I bet they can! Israel has made it clear million times that it has absolutely no intention of complying with the law and has received the blessing of Bush in that defiance. US offers only selective support for the rule of law, but not when its for the Palestinian side.

The Palestinians learned from the "well-deserved" lesson of international boycott that democracy does not mean electing "well-deserved" occupation resistance, but "well-deserved" betrayers and those who accept Israeli defiance of the law. They also learned that it does not matter if Israel instituted further slaughter and destruction in Gaza and the West Bank because the media will always meet them with silence or self-righteousness.

Of course, Arab, Israel, US and EU would rather "negotiate" with Fatah! Wouldn't anyone? But, everything can be refused and Fatah is helpless. In the background, Palestinians (including Hamas, despite that Abbas called them not) will be waiting, rightfully. Neither Abbas nor Israel, US, EU and Arab can make Hamas and Palestinians disappear. If the "negotiation" is not acceptable to Hamas, it won't be acceptable to the Palestinian people. Therefore Fatah couldn't agree to it. This is the "despair" that Erekat is afraid of.