The Travesty of Palestinian Peace

Just when I thought I had seen it all, I found out that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is as inane as the UN (United Nations).  These organizations willingly and blindly embrace the Palestinian victimization rhetoric.  Palestinians have been nurtured and coaxed into believing that Israel is the big bad wolf and they are its victims.  Popular global organizations and NGOs supposedly impartial and non-political: remain openly anti-Israel. The ICRC still refers to the West Bank as “occupied territory” giving credence and millions of dollars in aid to terrorists disguised as disfranchised Palestinians; like the ones who gunned down Rabbi Raziel Shevach in cold blood.  22 bullets were removed from his body. Shot in a drive-by-attack, Raziel left behind a wife and six kids.  Hamas praised the attack. Charming.

But this story goes beyond terrorism. This story digs deep into the annals of evil and corruption which the rest of the world buys into.  20 years ago, Yasser Arafat ingeniously marketed terrorism as a cause, and himself as head of a legitimate state.  The anguished cry of “occupation” became carte blanche for indiscriminate attacks on Israel and its citizens. Then, US President Bill Clinton’s attempt at brokering a peace agreement became so relevant that the world forgot Mr. Clinton’s presidential indiscretions. Rumor has it that while on the phone with Arafat to plan the Camp David meeting with Shimon Peres, Mr. Clinton was getting well acquainted with Ms. Lewinsky in the Oval Office.  But that did not deter the Camp David “peace agreement”.  A historic meeting that made the rest of us forget Ms. Lewinsky and her formidable abilities of raising Mr. Clinton’s morale. But I digress! This was an epic peace agreement that earned both Arafat and Peres the Nobel Peace Prize.  Little did the world realize that peace in the middle east is only relative to time: unpredictable and very changeable. But, the west’s gluttonous yearn for peace gave blessing to a pact with the devil.  However, most of us believed that it was better than no pact at all.  Suddenly there was no limit to the availability of financial aid believed to be imperative to stabilize and sustain a “new” Palestinian state.  Peres truly believed that an era of friendship and peace had just taken root in his backyard.  Little did he know. It did not take long for Hamas to worm itself into the fabric of Palestinian life; leaving very little doubt that the Palestinian state was also a front to the terrorist organization.  A historic handshake, and a million-dollar Nobel Peace Prize later did not stop the intrinsic hatred that Hamas and eventually Palestinians would develop for Israel.

In the past 20 years, the Palestinians have received an estimated $25 billion dollars in aid: mostly courtesy of the US and other western countries.  As a matter of fact: the US taxpayer is responsible for $4.5 billion of those $25 billion. On his way out of office, President Obama was discreetly on the verge of donating more taxpayers’ money to the Palestinian cause; fortunately, the new administration stopped it before reaching its intended benefactor.  With endless global pity party activism, and money flowing in from all directions, one would think that the Palestinians would be wanting for very little.  But terrorism is costly; mostly at the expense of Palestinians living in poverty and indoctrinated to blame Israel for their woes.  But not all Palestinians are ravaged by the poor economy and continual upheaval.  Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas may feign Palestinian victimhood, but he and his cronies lead a great life.  Peace with Israel would not bode well with Mr. Abbas; it  could mean that he would have to work for a living. He and his  “government” have endless financial resources courtesy of the UN, the US, charity organizations, and the EU.  UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency) feeds approximately five million of Mr. Abbas’ citizens. The largest financial contributor is the US. So why work hard for peace when everything is handed out on the proverbial UN platter? Why spoil a good thing?

Abbas is a fraud as is his government.  This week he went on a rampage denouncing the US for not only recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but because the US is prepared to close its free-for-all money purse to UNRWA.  UN Ambassador Nikki Haley was not spared the insults either. A woman as tough as nails; not afraid to take either the Security Council or the Palestinian leadership to task.  Abbas’ insults toward Ms. Haley did not qualify for a #METOO tweet.  No women activists came to her aid.  For over a year, she has held her ground  with Israel against the majority of the Security Council members.  Her vetoes echoed even louder these past few weeks; causing more angst and fury to Mr. Abbas. This was magnified  when President Trump announced that he would hold  back $65 million in  UNRWA funding.  The $65 million is half of the annual $125 million the US contributes to UNRWA: another anti-Israel bigoted organization. The US is the highest contributor. In Palestinian fashion reciprocation;  Abbas and his band of thugs denounced Israel and vowed that they would never agree to any peace terms with it, and continued to rant even further by stating that  Israel has no religious claim on the land anyway. Obviously, either Mr. Abbas failed history in school or is a certified imbecile. But nothing that he says is new. He spouts anti-Israel trash on daily basis, while keeping his people in squalor and supporting Hamas in their effort to blow up innocent Israeli civilians.  And the “international community” continues to support the Abbas government while accusing Israel of human rights violations. Morons is too good a word for them.

The loony “international community” has invested too much in Palestinian propaganda  to even consider any other alternative. Biblical  Palestine has very little to do with Mahmoud Abbas’ vision of his Palestine. He has no wish for peace with Israel because there is no immediate financial gratification in that.  Peace would mean self reliance; a prospect Mr. Abbas is not ready to embrace.   His power lies in his connections with Hamas and other terrorist cells that operate in that region.  His leverage is terrorism; or so he thought.  What he did not bank on was Mr. Trump.  The unpredictable, unapologetic, loud mouth, and unconventional president whose ego does not allow him to bow down to anyone let alone Abbas.  I doubt that the Palestinian leader ever imagined that at some point in time the US would cease donating to his state.  He, like the rest of the political world never dreamed that  a US president would actually act on a promise that four previous presidents had made and never kept; and declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.  Nikki Haley is not her predecessor either.  She does not shake or quiver at the UN’s Security Council condemnation of Israel.  Instead she looks at them straight in the eye and accuses them of bigotry and bias against Israel.  The US is not doing “business as usual” when dealing with the Palestinians or the UN.  Both are finally being exposed for the travesty that they really are.

It is true that there are many Palestinian families who have nothing to do with terrorism, Hamas, or corruption. Their only wish is to raise their families in peace. But they are few and far between, and too afraid to stand up against the leadership.  Most have allowed themselves to be driven by hatred for Israel which has kept them in constant poverty.  None of them seem to question where all the donated money goes.  Or possibly they are afraid to. Millions of dollars are continually donated by governments, states, charities, and private organizations without accountability. There is a sordid method to Palestinian leadership: control the people through poverty. After all, Abbas does not have to feed his people; UNRWA with predominant US money does. US taxpayers are feeding Palestinians because their own leadership would rather cipher funds toward terrorism than give them basic needs.  One can easily understand why 2.2 million Arabs, mostly Palestinians, choose to live in Israel.

The limpid “international community” argues that cutting funding and declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital only fuels unrest and terrorism.  Sheer lunatic thinking. 20 years of non-stop funding has not stopped riots or terrorism. Are we to believe that we must remain emotionally hostage to corrupt states because  they might act bad?  Do we reward children who behave badly in the hope that they may reform? It is time that the adults in the “international community” room wake up and realize that funding a terrorist state for the sake of feeding its population is insane.  It is time that the self-righteous “international community” demanded accountability from Abbas. Hold the Palestinian leadership responsible for its inability to improve conditions for their people despite the millions in support.  Disallow Palestinian hateful rhetoric against Israel and make it a condition to peace negotiations. Demand that Israel’s statehood and historical significance is not up for negotiation. “We maintain peace through our strength” Reagan once said (March 23, 1983).  The Cold War ended because Reagan would not move to appease. When the other side has nothing left to bargain with, it has to eventually negotiate.  Stop the international monetary and rhetoric Palestinian appeasement and Abbas will sit at the adult table hoping for something; because when he has nothing he will negotiate.