Netanyahu and Abbas Squeezed by the Right

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Sept. 1, 2010
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             Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas find themselves in the same boat on the eve of President Barack Obama’s potentially groundbreaking peace summit.  Both find themselves squeezed by right wing factions, making deal-breaking demands before the summit starts Sept. 2.   Netanyahu faces the ultra-orthodox Shas Party, headed by right wing Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, insisting that the Israeli prime minister continue building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  Hamas hardliners, from Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh to Damscus-based Khaled Mashaal demand that Abbas break off talks with Israel.  Hamas wants nothing short of the complete destruction of Israel before engaging in peace talks.   Too many assassinations and too much bad blood prevent Hamas from supporting Abbas and  playing ball with Israel.

            Slated for Sept. 2, Barack’s summit hopes to get Israel and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority back to the peace table.  Abbas makes much ado about continued Israeli building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  Abbas knows full well that any construction completed now or in the future, would benefit an eventual Palestinian state.  Abbas figured out long ago that armed struggle toward Israel only leads to more death and destruction.  His decision to engage the peace process shows his wisdom, knowing that his predecessor and founder of the Palestine Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat went to his grave Nov. 11, 2004 with his unmet dream of creating an independent Palestinian state.  Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition partners threaten to break-up the government should the 60-year-old MIT-educated prime minister halt settlement construction activities.

            Gaza’s Hamas ruler Ismail Haniyeh, who led a coup June 14, 2007 against Abbas’ Fatah government, called the peace talks a complete waste.  Hamas, originally founded by the late blind quadriplegic Sheik Ahmed Yassin in 1987, has never accepted any peace deal signed between the late PLO chief Arafat and Israel.  When Israel assassinated the 68-year-old wheelchair-bound Yassin March 22, 2004 and his 56-year-old successor Abdel Azziz al-Rantisi April 17, 2004, it made a peace with Hamas next to impossible.  Israel’s May 31 skirmish in the open seas causing nine deaths with a Turkish-flagged relief boat bound for Gaza also made peace talks with Hamas highly unlikely.  Abbas walks a razor’s edge opening up peace talks while, simultaneously, trying to placate Hamas calling for Israel’s destruction.  Netanyahu faces similar obstacles from right wing religious parties.

            Abbas has threatened to break off the latest round of peace talks if Israel doesn’t continue to freeze construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  Abbas knows that any construction would be part of negotiations, making the demand to halt all construction superfluous.  When the now comatose [due to a stroke] former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave Gaza to Abbas Sept. 12, 2005 only three months before suffering a debilitating stroke Jan. 6, 2006, the Palestinians inherited extensive Israeli commercial and residential construction projects.  Israel seized the Gaza Strip from Egypt as a spoil during the 1967 Six-Day War.  Abbas didn’t complain then when he repossessed extensive Israeli development, enabling Palestinians to have immediate infrastructure in Gaza.  Abbas’ demand of Israel to halt all remaining construction helps placate Hamas.

            Israeli and Palestinian hardliners need to refrain from sabotaging the latest round of peace talks.  Netanyahu and Abbas have a real opportunity to finally work out a deal for a two-state solution, never realized by the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat.  Recent comments by 89-year-old ultraconservative Shas Party Rabbi Ovadia Yosef reflect passions before the latest round of summitry.  Hoping Palestinians “would perish from the world,” Yosef displayed his urgent need to step down from the Shas Party.  Ultraconservative Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman should insist on Yosef’s resignation.  Calling Yosef’s remarks “not only deeply offensive, but incitement such as this hurts the cause of peace,” U.S. State Dept. spokesman P.J. Crowley served notice to the Netanyahu government.  Netanyahu’s office immediately condemned Yosef’s incendiary remarks.

            Before Obama’s historic summit begins Sept. 2, both Israelis and Palestinians need to show the necessary restraint to make a two-state solution possible.  While there are intolerable demands on both sides, the forgotten middle ground offers real hope.  Abbas know that continued war with Israel offers only more death and destruction to Palestinians.  Israel knows that bigger fences are no real long-term solution that must be hammered out at the peace table.  Netanyahu knows that his predecessors, including now comatose Ariel Sharon, never lived in peace, making the latest round of summitry under Barack even more momentous.  Both sides know the endless dead-end of armed struggle.  No one knows what it will take to negotiate a lasting peace.  Both know too well the consequences of unending war.  Under Obama both sides have their best shot at finding the right solution.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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