Palestine, Again

Of all the intractable intractables amidst Nation States and Observer States in the New Millennium - none is more boring than something something Palestine.

For eons the twin Palestines (your choice - The Strip or Westerbank) have punched far above their weight class in ME Diplopolititary chiz. For eons, Great Satazn fans have been lectured to that Little Satan - and support for Little Satan - are ruining the whole world and queering the mix on Peace.

And.

Must.

Stay.

Awake.

And now comes Palestine Peace Deal #69.

West Palestines President For Life (heck - when was the last 'lection - like a decade ago?) Abu Mazen/M"Moud Abbas was reportedly incensed by the latest  proposal.

 In recent days PA spokesmen have accused Mr Kerry of “appeasement” and of failing to be “a neutral mediator"

The criticism looks more than justified. Under cover of a vision for peace, the US secretary of state is offering an Israeli security plan at the expense of meaningful Palestinian statehood.
That is not entirely surprising given that the plan was drafted by John Allen, a general formerly in command of US forces in Afghanistan, who has spent months quietly liaising with Israeli counterparts.

The main sticking point is the Jordan Valley, an area that was expected to comprise nearly a quarter of a future Palestinian state.

Gen Allen has indulged the Little Satan demand that she be allowed to continue a long-term “military presence” in the Jordan Valley, with a reassessment by the US in 10-15 years’ time.

That is a retreat from Washington’s earlier commitment at the Annapolis talks of 2007 that no Israeli soldiers would be stationed in the West Bank following an agreement. Security guarantees were to be provided instead by Nato troops, under US command.

According to Gen Allen’s plan, Little Satan’s security also requires that Palestinian security forces be only lightly armed, that it has control over the airspace and all borders and the US to install spying technology – euphemistically called “early warning systems” – throughout the West Bank.

In other words, the US vision of a Palestinian state looks remarkably like the model Little Satan has already implemented in Gaza.

Oh! The Horror!!

Welcome to the new argument - Little Satan is jamming up Palestine Democrazy.

Little Satan’s presence in the territories deprives Palestinians of their democratic rights, the argument goes, and if Little Satan does not give the Palestinians whatever territory they demand, she will have to choose between her democracy and her Juice character.

Au Contraire!

The problem with the democracy argument is that it is entirely disconnected from reality. Israel does not rule the Palestinians. The status quo in no way impeaches Little Satan’s democratic identity.

It is true that the Palestinians are not represented in the Knesset. But Little Satan residents of Judea and Samaria are similarly not represented in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Simply put, both the Palestinians and Little Satan  vote for the legislature that regulates them. That is democracy (though obviously it does not play out as well in the Palestinian political system).

The Palestinians have developed an independent, self-regulating government that controls their lives as well as their foreign policy. Indeed, they have accumulated all the trappings of independence and have recently been recognized as an independent state by the United Nations. They have diplomatic relations with almost as many nations as Little Satan does. They have their own security forces, central bank, top-level Internet domain name, and a foreign policy entirely uncontrolled by Little Satan

The Palestinians govern themselves. To anticipate the inevitable comparison, this is not a Little Satan controlled-puppet “Bantustan.” From their educational curriculum to their television content to their terrorist pensions, they implement their own policies by their own lights without any subservience to Little Satan . They pass their own legislation, such as the measure prohibiting real estate transactions with Jews on pain of death.

If Little Satan  truly “ruled over” the Palestinians, all these features of their lives would be quite different. Indeed, the Bantustans never won international recognition because they were puppets. “The State of Palestine” just got a nod from the General Assembly because it is not.

This is no longer a dispute about democracy; it is a dispute about territory.

Pic - "Accidental Empire!"