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‘Palestinians are left without any option to redress injustices’
Dec 13,2014 - Last updated at Dec 13,2014
The next Israeli elections, due in March 2015, will bring a new negotiating partner to the Palestinians. He might be the same Benjamin Netanyahu, who had shown his credentials as a strong advocate of biblical irredentist expansionism in Palestinian territory, a lack of faith in the two-state solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, and a strong supporter of the “protective edge” bombing strategy to subdue his political opponents in Gaza.
The Palestinians might also find themselves facing another negotiator, like Naftali Bennett, of the Habayit Hayahudi Party, who demands the annexation of 60 per cent of the West Bank as a solution to Palestinian attacks.
He was one of the first Israeli statesmen to demand a complete occupation of the Gaza Strip last July, at whatever cost to the Israeli soldiers or the more than 2,221confirmed killed Arabs.
Gone are the days when Arab heads of state could influence the Israeli electorate to vote right or left, in compliance with the peace initiatives announced in Arab capitals.
The political gains of the Israeli Labour Party and of the leftist activists, years ago, were partially due to statements by King Hussein, whose announcements used to tip the balance between the main different political contestants to the Knesset.
More than one Israeli politician admitted openly that a photo opportunity with the King could yield thousands of votes, since King Hussein’s credibility and popularity amongst peace advocates was unsurpassed.
It is no longer a secret that the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty of 1994 was about to be followed by a Syrian-Israeli peace treaty, as the final details were agreed upon in Turkey.
But the assassin’s bullet, on November 4, 1995, murdered Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister then, and killed with him the new vision of a reborn Middle East where multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-creed peoples could live in peace and prosperity.
The Oslo accords, scripted and signed by chairman Yasser Arafat, generated so many hopes that an end to occupation was in sight.
But the ultraorthodox fanatics who killed Rabin succeeded in brainwashing the majority of Israeli public opinion to ostracise the Israeli centre-left political camp.
The region no longer has those statesmen who could communicate to the Israeli public words of wisdom before the next elections, due in three months.
Moreover, a third Intifada by the Palestinians would bolster and invigorate the popular support enjoyed by Netanyahu, Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman among voters.
In sum, the Palestinians are left without any option to redress the injustices inflicted on them. They can neither influence the leftists nor court the Likudniks.
Such a political formula is a time bomb, according to strategic foresight wisdom.