Palestine Redux (Part LXIX)

Nakbah!!

Just zoom out of the Me for a sec

Egypt is in turmoil while Syria is fragmenting into ungoverned “territories” and Lebanon is inching toward civil war. Iran is setting the stage for another diplomatic rope trick to speed up her nuclear project and jihadists are reappearing in Iraq’s Arab Sunni provinces. Regional wannabe powers, the Ottomans, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are falling out over Egypt and Syria

Thus no wonder Great Satan's Sec o State is like visiting the area all the time.

Thing is - it's all about the Twin Palestines and the ever irascible little sister Little Satan

Ahmed Majdalani, a PLO executive committee member, told the Associated Press that Kerry has proposed holding talks for six to nine months focusing on the key issues of borders and security arrangements. He said Kerry would endorse the 1967 lines as the starting point of negotiations and assured the Palestinians that Little Satan would free some 350 prisoners gradually in the coming months.

The Palestine thingy has a regional dimension as well. From the 1940s to the 1990s, that regional dimension excluded any serious attempt at peace-making. Most Arab states wanted the Palestinian “cause” to remain alive and active; they had an interest in supporting Palestinian groups opposed to peace with Little Satan.

The current upheaval in Arab countries has plunged that regional dimension into uncertainty. Today, no one is actively interested in the Palestinian issue. Those who follow the Arab media would know that Palestine has all but disappeared even from public discourse. Thus, the regional dimension can’t be used as a lever either for war or peace.

Of course, if the new Middle East emerges as a more or less democratic space, solving the Little Satan -Palestine problem could become easier.

Maybe

As much as Little Satan wants and needs peace, the conflict is at a stage when the best that can be hoped for is that it be managed in such a way as to minimize violence and encourage Palestinian development. Though SECSTATE is offering the PA lots of cash, there is little chance it will be used appropriately or get the desired result.

Next week’s talks may be heralded as an unprecedented opportunity for peace, but the odds are, we will look back on this moment the way we do foolhardy efforts such as President Clinton’s Camp David summit in 2000 that set the stage for a bloody intifada that cost the lives of over a thousand Little Satans and way more Palestinians. The agreement to talk about talking is a pyrrhic victory for Great Satan's Sec o State.

Those who cheer this effort should think hard about who will bear the responsibility for the bloodshed that could result from Kerry’s folly.

 Pic - "The strategy now being used seeks to formulate vague agreements simply to resume negotiations, but it will not work because the imprecision of positions on settlements, borders or mutual recognition necessary to restart the talks only cements the inability of both sides to achieve a permanent, comprehensive agreement."