After months of pressuring mostly Israel's leader Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a two-state solution, President Obama has finally begun to start working the Arab states to come to the table, sending a letter to Moroccan King Muhammed:
According to an official source, Obama wrote recently to Morocco's King Mohammed VI that Israel must cease settlement construction and remove checkpoints in the West Bank.
Obama also urged the Palestinians to strengthen their security forces in order to fight terror more effectively. He also called on them to implement institutional reform in preparation for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Obama also called for Arab states to provide financial and political support to the Palestinian Authority, and to use the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative to solve the conflict.
Its about flipping time! While I hope for the best for Obama, it did seem like he was out to please others while undermining Israel, asking for one-sided concessions at first, and focusing solely on the settlements, which while they are an issue, aren't really THE only issue. They've been done in negotiations before. And they should be talked. I don't believe that in a final negotiation, that there should be settlements deep into the West Bank, but I also believe as the UN resolution only calls for return of "territories," not "all territories," and Israel needs a safe border, that settlments on the border should be negotiated.
Also, Netanyahu's popularity has now jumped, and perhaps Obama gets that Bibi is not going away anytime soon. While Bibi was a disappointment a decade ago, this time, he has broad support for his two-state plan, which means he may be in a great position to deliver. After all, it was Begin who got the Egypt deal with Sadat! However, I do hope Bibi takes Sarkozy's advice on Avigdor.
I think this is a great step for Obama. I was beginning to doubt him on this, and I'm still ambivalent. But finally, the other side of the table is gonna come, which is only fair, after years of economic and diplomatic isolation from its neighbors, neighbors which let Palestinian refugees sit in camps of squalor, giving them false hope of returning when the Jews were gone, and indoctrinating them in hate and despair, after they told them to leave Israel until the Jews were gone in 1948. It is also time for the Palestinian Authority, the only would-be government which would have a chance of existing in peace with Israel, to get some more support over Hamas and a money and political edge. Only the Arab states can do this more. We cannot allow Hamas, which tried to murder Abbas to gain a foothold or a negotiating spot.
However, there is one more element. I do think the issue of a potential nuclear Iran, which Obama has said he would not tolerate, needs to be looked at further. They also need to be checked, so Hamas and Hezbollah can no longer wage war on Israel being funded and armed by Iran. I think this should be done by trying to strengthen the revolution, and further sanctions, until they allow the world to see their nuclear program. But this should unite the Arab world and Israel, as Iran is a threat to them both.
I do think peace for Israel and the Palestine-to-be can be done. But it requires more than just Israel giving concessions: it requires the Arab world, especially the Palestinian Authority to come to the table. Netanyahu offered peace, and Abbas has little excuse to not be coming and sit on his hands. Arafat didn't demand a full settlement freeze for natural growth when he negotiated. The only reason he turned it down was the Trojan Horse called "right of return" which Israel would not allow, not because of settlements. While I hope Israel does give a settlement freeze, I think O is doing the right thing in finally enticing Israel to do it, rather than barking at them.
UPDATE: The Saudis have agreed to allow Israeli use of Saudi airspace to strike Iran nuclear targets.
Saudi Arabia has indicated to Israel that it would not protest use of its airspace by Israeli fighter jets in the event the government resolves to launch a military assault against Iran, according to a report which appeared in the British newspaper The Sunday Times.
According to The Sunday Times, Mossad chief Meir Dagan held secret meetings with Saudi officials, who gave their tacit approval to Israel's use of the kingdom's airspace.
While I hope that there is no need to stike Iranian targets, if the protests die down and the Mullahs and Ahmad reign back the power, and they won't negotiate on nukes, it is a good sign of Arabs coming to the table in common cause, which would advance the peace process greatly, as everyone knows the threat of a nuclear Iran would be one to be confronted, if all diplomatic options fail. Also, news of this could scare opponents of Ahmad and war enough to finally rise up and throw him out before a conflict. And while I have no love for the Saudis in anyway and hate their sick regime, they are a major power player, and by coming to the table, they may see that moderation is necessary.