I can’t think two reports from Israel this morning are unrelated. One is that the Israelis have accepted a proposal by the so-called Middle East Quartet to give aid to the Palestinians; the other that the Israelis have given Hamas the specific deadline of the end of 2006 to negotiate before Israel would act unilaterally on borders. Mr Quid meet Mr. Quod.
Hamas already responded by applying the “Jack Story”:
Hamas on Wednesday insisted Israel wasn’t really interested in negotiating.“Haim Ramon’s assertion that Israel is ready for negotiations is no more than an attempt to trick the public,” Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said. “They don’t want negotiations, and even if there were negotiations, they would not give us our rights.”
For those who don’t recall the “Jack Story,” it comes from the world of psychotherapy. A man gets a flat tire on a dark and stormy night. Sonofbeehivingblablabla, he mutters – and I forgot my jack on top of it. He glances up at a house with a light on a hundred yards up hill. Maybe they can lend me a jack. He starts off for it, but as he trudges up the hill he talks to himself- wonder if they will lend me that jack, maybe they won’t lend me that jack, I dunno – I doubt they’re going to lend me that jack. By the time the man reaches the house and the door opens, he shouts angrily at the person opening the door before a word comes out: Why the &$%#*@! didn’t you lend me your %$*&^#@ing jack?!
Sound familiar? Of course in the Middle East this has been going on for a thousand years, long before there were jacks. How about – Why the $%^&*# didn’t you lend me your @#$%>#ing mule?!
For 2 nights, watching BBC America, there has been story after story of the “plight” of the Palestinians. A Doctor who is relying on family and friends for loans, others escape me. Story after story in the media… Nowhere in these stories was the question – “Where are the oil rich Arabs helping their kinsman”?
What do we owe the Palestinians? They elected a sponsor of terror, Hamas, to lead them. Through back channels, we now have(?) to break our own laws to appease them? The rule of law means little to our government these days. Or, have we again bowed to the European sensibilities for a promise of European alliance?
Personally, I think it’s another example of projection. Try this (changes emphasized):
“Mahmoud Abbas‘s assertion that the Palestinian Authority is ready for negotiations is no more than an attempt to trick the public,” Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said. “We don’t want negotiations, and even if there were negotiations, we would not stop the terror.”
That makes a whole lot more sense to me… and much more closely reflects the world I live in.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Roger:
The question shouldn’t be about negotiation. Hamas has given the world the exact truth on what how they will negotiate. This is what they consider reasonable, rational thinking. Their Hudna goes like this. Israel goes back to the pre 1967 borders. Now this is every peacniks wet dream, the most generous offer that the Israeli’s could give, the best terms for the Palestinians and the idea of a two state solution. And what will Hamas give Israel for their generosity? A temporary truce, a delay in their effort to remove Israel from the face of the map. This is justice as far as Hamas is concerned. Give us the best terms in a two state solution and we will let you excist for a few more years before we wipe you out. I watched a special on PBS last night and their top leaders spelled it out in plain english, there was no way to say that there was room for any other explanation. And there was no room for retreat. We will stop attacking you, for a while, if you give us the maximum in a two state solution, and when that time is up you can leave the area or we will start killing you again, their will not be a state of Israel, and you will leave or live under sharia law.
How can anyone say there is room to negotiate with Hamas unless they agree with Hamas that Israel should be eliminated. There is no other rational explanation. And the west is supposed to fund Hamas so they can consolidate their power and so the west can aid Hamas in their openly stated goal to wipe out Israel. You don’t need Juan Cole to translate anything for you. Hamas states their plan in English and they have NO intention of changing it. THEY MEAN WHAT THEY SAY.
Daniel in Brookline,
The Palestinian Authority does have a reputation for consistency. They are consistently jerks.
Roger:
If you want a prime example of how the media is trying to frame the nature of the Big A’s letter to President Bush go to the “Time” qoute of the day section. Out of everything in the 18 page letter, the Holocaust denial, the religous ramblings, the Anti Western thought screed what line does Time select? A line that goes on about the horrors of people dying in their homes, as if this was a pacifist who just wants peace and the end of innocent people dying. Typical wishful thinking and denial.
Israel should cut off their water and electrical service. All medical services and any economic relations. Wait five years then see who is left to negioate with.
mythusmage:
The Palestinian Authority does have a reputation for consistency. They are consistently jerks.
The Palestinian Authority has been, since its inception in 1993, little more than a haven for mass murderers.
It says a lot about Israel, and about the IDF, that even with this festering cancer eating away at them, Israelis show patience and tolerance — and an unwillingness to impose upon the Palestinians the neglect and brutality that the Arab nations have.
Believe me, there’s little else holding Israel back. Were it not for the multitudes of disadvantaged Palestinians, whose plight is not Israel’s fault but has still somehow become Israel’s responsibility, the IDF would have vanquished the terrorists long ago. The IDF is quite capable of beating an army five times its size — and has, more than once — but the IDF has a real problem with human shields.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Once Israel “starts” negotiations, they should expand their border request for every terrorist attack — taking land for war. Maybe 100 houses worth for each rocket, 1000 houses for each Israeli life (not for the Palestinian murderers).