Those Things We Promised You? Not So Much.
The London conference was only supposed to be about getting the Palestinian Authority on its feet. In fact, Israel was explicitly promised that political issues would not be discussed or negotiated: this promise was precisely why Israel finally agreed to stay away from the conference. If political judgments were going to be made or, especially, formalized, then Israel would quite rightly have demanded representation at the conference - it's absurd for the world to get together to make commitments about the peace process and not invite one of the parties ot the peace process. But international diplomacy has a funny way of undermining Israel:
Leaders attending Tuesday's international conference in support of the Palestinian Authority said they expect "action by Israel" regarding its commitments to the road map. Senior British sources said on Tuesday they do not accept Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's position that Palestinians must fulfill a series of obligations before implementation of the road map can begin.
Its easy for them to say that the Israeli case has no merit since they wouldn't allow the Israelis to make their case! Step back for a second from the grind of day after day of news and just contemplate the outrage that's been committed: an international conference was called to make decisions about the future of Israel, and like a third-rate client state, Israel wasn't even invited to present their input. The lack of respect and legitimacy being lent the Jewish state is nothing short of staggering. And then there's this treat:
At last month's Sharm summit, Abbas insisted that the steps he had already taken, like the deployment of his forces in Gaza, constituted implementation of commitments included in the road map's first phase.
Those forces - now ostensibly deployed throughout the territories, are doing a fantastic job:
Fatah gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Nasser Youssef while he was visiting Jenin on Tuesday, injuring a PA policeman.
This part's my favorite:
Following the incident, a furious Youssef dismissed the commander of the security forces in the Jenin area, Fayez Arafat, accusing him of failing to rein in Zubeidi and his group [who shot at Youssef]. The minister also ordered the arrest of Zubeidi, but backtracked for fear that such a move would escalate tensions in the city.
Yes indeed. While Abbas is in London, his officials are continuing his policy of totally and completely failing to stand up to even the most rudimentary thuggary (Zubeidi had all of 300 people with him). But that doesn't stop anyone from congratulating him for, well, standing up to terrorists. It's beautiful: Abbas can talk tough while his commanders appease terrorists, and in return Abbas is feted for not appeasing terrorists (this begins to seem eerily familiar). And while the worlds' dignitaries are engaging in all of their no doubt dignified niceties, the Palestinian plan to "negotiate" with the terrorists is paying off bloody dividends. Imshin has pictures of the aftermath of Abbas's negotiations.
Leaders attending Tuesday's international conference in support of the Palestinian Authority said they expect "action by Israel" regarding its commitments to the road map. Senior British sources said on Tuesday they do not accept Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's position that Palestinians must fulfill a series of obligations before implementation of the road map can begin.
Its easy for them to say that the Israeli case has no merit since they wouldn't allow the Israelis to make their case! Step back for a second from the grind of day after day of news and just contemplate the outrage that's been committed: an international conference was called to make decisions about the future of Israel, and like a third-rate client state, Israel wasn't even invited to present their input. The lack of respect and legitimacy being lent the Jewish state is nothing short of staggering. And then there's this treat:
At last month's Sharm summit, Abbas insisted that the steps he had already taken, like the deployment of his forces in Gaza, constituted implementation of commitments included in the road map's first phase.
Those forces - now ostensibly deployed throughout the territories, are doing a fantastic job:
Fatah gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Nasser Youssef while he was visiting Jenin on Tuesday, injuring a PA policeman.
This part's my favorite:
Following the incident, a furious Youssef dismissed the commander of the security forces in the Jenin area, Fayez Arafat, accusing him of failing to rein in Zubeidi and his group [who shot at Youssef]. The minister also ordered the arrest of Zubeidi, but backtracked for fear that such a move would escalate tensions in the city.
Yes indeed. While Abbas is in London, his officials are continuing his policy of totally and completely failing to stand up to even the most rudimentary thuggary (Zubeidi had all of 300 people with him). But that doesn't stop anyone from congratulating him for, well, standing up to terrorists. It's beautiful: Abbas can talk tough while his commanders appease terrorists, and in return Abbas is feted for not appeasing terrorists (this begins to seem eerily familiar). And while the worlds' dignitaries are engaging in all of their no doubt dignified niceties, the Palestinian plan to "negotiate" with the terrorists is paying off bloody dividends. Imshin has pictures of the aftermath of Abbas's negotiations.
