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Sunday, April 6, 2014
Prof. Efraim Inbar: Respond Firmly to Palestinian Blackmail

Respond Firmly to Palestinian Blackmail
by Prof. Efraim Inbar
April 6, 2014
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 241


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: In response to the latest Palestinian attempt to squeeze
Israel, Israel’s government should kick the habit of paying the Palestinians
for their participation in peace talks. Instead, Jerusalem should remind the
Palestinians, through tough countermeasures, that Israel is the stronger
party and can inflict much greater pain on the Palestinians than the
Palestinian Authroity can inflict upon Israel. The Palestinians need to
internalize the lesson that adhering to maximalist political goals is
counterproductive.

Last week, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas blew off the
US-brokered peace talks with Israel and slapped Washington in the face by
re-launching a diplomatic war against Israel through international
institutions.

Several lessons should be drawn from this turn of events. First, the
breakdown of the talks is a reminder of the stubborn reality that so many
prefer to ignore: The gap in the positions of the two sides is too large to
bridge even by a creative diplomacy backed by a superpower. Both Israel and
the Palestinians still possess tremendous energy to fight for things that
are important to them. Peace and coexistence are not the most important
goals of the two warring societies.

Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn from this is that attempts to broker
conflict resolution between the parties needs to be replaced by a more
realistic approach of conflict management. The good intentions of the
international community should be directed towards attaining partial
understandings and minimizing the suffering on both sides, rather than
pursuing an elusive end to the conflict.

At the same time, Israel should seriously rethink the wisdom of continuing
to go along with the preferences of the international community –
implementation of the two-state paradigm – when evidence mounts that this
paradigm is not workable. The attempt to impose a statist rationale on the
Palestinian national movement in the hope that a proto-statist structure,
such as the Palestinian Authority, would behave like Jordan or Egypt, has
failed.

The opposite is true. The PA has failed to meet the main test of statehood –
monopoly over use of force. It lost control over all its territory to Hamas
rule in Gaza, where radical terrorists are hardly building a friendly state.
Furthermore, the PA has developed into a dictatorial and corrupt political
entity, hardly deserving the aid of enlightened states. More importantly, it
is educating its children to hate Jews, with suicide bombers the role model
for Palestinian youth. Thus, the chances of the PA developing into a
responsible and peaceful state are slim.

In fact, a huge majority of Israelis fully understand that the current
Palestinian leaderships in the West Bank, and obviously in Gaza too, are not
real partners for peace.

Under such circumstances, Israel’s interest in making concessions to the
Palestinians just to maintain their participation in useless talks – is
questionable. After all, the Palestinians need Israel more than vice versa.
Abbas is still ruling primarily due to the efforts of Israeli forces in
ridding the West Bank of Hamas and jihadist elements that are trying to take
over the PA. Moreover, without its economic umbilical cord to Israel, the PA
is not viable.

Therefore, Israeli concessions and gestures to keep the Palestinians talking
without any Palestinian quid pro quo make little sense. Releasing convicted
terrorists, in particular, is counterproductive. It undermines Israel’s
deterrence and justice system; it puts back on the streets individuals
intent on harming Israelis; and it radicalizes Palestinian society that
welcomes them as national heroes.

Furthermore, since 1993 the Palestinians have shown zero diplomatic
flexibility, refusing to budge from their maximalist demands. They still
insist on a division of Jerusalem, they reject key Israeli security
requirements, and they refuse to acknowledge Jewish national rights and
commit to an end to the conflict.

Unilateral measures and threats should be answered in kind. After all,
Israel is the stronger party and can inflict much greater pain on the
Palestinians than the PA can inflict upon Israel. Perhaps the PA needs to be
reminded of this. Raw power politics is what everybody understands in the
Middle East. In this region, fear is a better political currency than
compassion and fairness.

The Palestinian threats to challenge Israel at the UN and in international
organizations are empty. Nothing can change the reality on the ground
without the acquiescence of Israel. For example, the acceptance of Palestine
by UNESCO did not change the lives of the Palestinians one iota. Israel
should also stop fearing Palestinian accusations at the International
Criminal Court. Regular concessions to the Palestinians for not taking this
course of action expose Israel to continuous blackmail. It is time to call
the Palestinian’s bluff and make the PA face the consequences.

Hopefully, Israel’s government will kick the habit of paying the
Palestinians for their participation in sham peace talks. Rather it is high
time to remind the Palestinians that decisions in Jerusalem, to a large
extent, determine their fate, and that only real negotiations and compromise
with Israel can give them the state they desire.

Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic
Studies, is a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University, and a
fellow at the Middle East Forum.
==================
BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the
Greg Rosshandler Family

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