What's more disturbing?
Some have called the Annapolis peace summit Bush’s swansong, but I’m not so sure. For years Georgie tried to avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but now that he’s experienced (some might say caused…) the pit of despair commonly referred to as Iraq, the messy disaster of Israel-Palestine suddenly doesn’t seem quite so daunting. Either way, the outlook for the Holy Land is bleak.
I mean, what’s more disturbing? The fact that 15,000 right-wing Israeli protesters marched through Jerusalem to the Western Wall to pray that the peace talks would fail, or that Mahmoud Abbas has banned all demonstrations in the West Bank? Or how about the fact that Olmert’s coalition partners (not to mention key members of his own party) will not negotiate any concessions that involve Jerusalem? Olmert has declared that without a two-state solution Israel “is finished”, yet a recent poll has indicated that 83% of respondents believe there will not be a peace agreement in their lifetime. Very depressing, yes, but what about the fact that Hamas (which happens to control Gaza) was able to mobilize 100,000 people to protest the peace effort? What an absurd irony that the Annapolis summit will likely fail (in part) because Hamas, a democratically elected terrorist group* has not been invited to participate in the negotiations.
No matter how you cut it, things are not looking good for the land of the Bible. GWB’s attempt at a legacy in Israel-Palestine has come far too late and will do little more than add to his big Middle East balagan.
* Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Canada, the United States, the European Union, Israel and Japan.
Some have called the Annapolis peace summit Bush’s swansong, but I’m not so sure. For years Georgie tried to avoid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but now that he’s experienced (some might say caused…) the pit of despair commonly referred to as Iraq, the messy disaster of Israel-Palestine suddenly doesn’t seem quite so daunting. Either way, the outlook for the Holy Land is bleak.
I mean, what’s more disturbing? The fact that 15,000 right-wing Israeli protesters marched through Jerusalem to the Western Wall to pray that the peace talks would fail, or that Mahmoud Abbas has banned all demonstrations in the West Bank? Or how about the fact that Olmert’s coalition partners (not to mention key members of his own party) will not negotiate any concessions that involve Jerusalem? Olmert has declared that without a two-state solution Israel “is finished”, yet a recent poll has indicated that 83% of respondents believe there will not be a peace agreement in their lifetime. Very depressing, yes, but what about the fact that Hamas (which happens to control Gaza) was able to mobilize 100,000 people to protest the peace effort? What an absurd irony that the Annapolis summit will likely fail (in part) because Hamas, a democratically elected terrorist group* has not been invited to participate in the negotiations.
No matter how you cut it, things are not looking good for the land of the Bible. GWB’s attempt at a legacy in Israel-Palestine has come far too late and will do little more than add to his big Middle East balagan.
* Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Canada, the United States, the European Union, Israel and Japan.
posted by Emma Jo Aiken-Klar, PhD at 3:58 PM
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