TEL AVIV, December 20, 2009 (WAFA)- Next year, Israel will be marking a decade to the failed and destructive vision of unilateralism. This will be a good, and possibly the last, opportunity to abandon this foolish fantasy, Israeli news site Ynet said.
Uri Misgav worte: “I recently committed a criminal act. I cannot even plead ignorance. A large red sign at the roadblock near the Qalandiya refugee camp made it clear. Israelis are forbidden from entering Area A in the West Bank. It may be a security constraint, but it also has a symbolic significance. The moderate and quiet capital of the Palestinian Authority is located a few minutes away from Jerusalem, yet visiting it is a crime.”
He added that next year, Israel will be marking a decade to the failed and destructive vision of unilateralism. This will be a good, and possibly the last, opportunity to abandon this foolish fantasy.
In his article Misgav continued: “Ramallah is recovering. The economic growth is apparent by the construction boom and the accelerated activity of the production and commercial sectors. The coffee shops offer thick hot chocolate in tall glasses next to the tea. Restaurants charge Tel Aviv-style prices. Yet skepticism reigns supreme. Everything is fragile, say the locals.”
I met with several prominent PA leaders here, Ynet added, members of Fatah’s top brass who speak fluent Hebrew; men who were held in Israeli jails for years and know us better than we know ourselves. They understand history and politics, possess street smarts and common sense, and display sharp humor and a sense of irony. They recoil from religious fanaticism and from bloodshed. They believe in the two-state vision in line with the 1967 borders.
“If there is one unforgivable sin in Ehud Barak’s list of transgressions, it is the way he entrenched the perception that Israelis have no Palestinian partner. We never had better partners than these. At this rate, soon we won’t have them either,” Misgav stated.
“Their despair and frustration are supposed to make us lose sleep. Years of reckless construction at settlements and outposts eroded their faith in the diplomatic process,” Ynet stressed.
Their lack of faith in the Netanyahu government is extreme, Misgav explained, the settlement freeze announcement, which includes the completion of thousands of residential units already under construction as well as building permits for dozens of public institutions is too little and too late for them.
He concluded by quoting PA Leadership saying: “We decided to stop being fools, they told me in Ramallah. What’s the problem? For once in our history we’re allowed not to be fools, they said.' Now try to argue with them.
