ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 69px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Palestine&#39;s Elusive Capital</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Dec. 3, 2009<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style4">&nbsp;F</span>inding a way to get Palestinians back to the peace table, a European Union draft recommended that East Jerusalem become the capital of a new Palestinian state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hoping to encourage Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to run for another term, the EU urged Israelis to stop all settlement activity in East Jerusalem and West Bank, prompting an angry response from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Headed by ultra-conservative Russian-born Avigor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Ministry opposes any concessions prior to a negotiated settlement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Israelis annexed East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War [June 5-June 10], with coordinated attacks by Palestinians, Jordan, Egypt and Syria, supported by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the dust settled June 10, 1967, Israel had captured Egypt s Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip, Jordan s West Bank and Syria s Golan Heights.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]>Palestinians efforts since 1967 has focused on a long guerrilla war, led until his death Nov. 11, 2004 by Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arafat never realized his dream of returning Israel to Palestinian rule, eventually accepting former U.S. President Jimmy Carter s 1978 Camp David Accords that made peace with Egypt, returning the Sinai Peninsula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Arafat s on-again-off-again peace efforts eventually won him the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since the end of Six-Day War, Israel has recognized its spoils of war as its official borders, including the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and West Bank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ending Arafat s long guerrilla war was based on Israel swapping land-for-peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Israel s second concession, after returning the Sinai Peninsula in 1978, involved leaving the Gaza Strip Sept. 12, 2005.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Palestine s Hamas faction never agreed to land-for-peace.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>When Hamas seized control of Gaza June 14, 2007, the Palestinian people, roughly 3-million inhabitants, were divided into two factions:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>One controlled in Ramallah, West Bank by the Palestinaian Authority and the other controlled by Hamas in Gaza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While the late Arafat negotiated deals on behalf of a unified Palestinian people, Arafat s successor, Abbas, no longer has that luxury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>EU and U.S. officials have never accepted that Palestinians are divided in two distinct factions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Today s EU officials, hoping to jumpstart new peace efforts, can only negotiate with Abbas, who s already signaled his intent to step down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Gaza s Hamas officials, represented by Ismail Haniyeh, have not agreed to any peace deals with Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Proposing a new Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank with its capital East Jerusalem, the EU completely overlooks Hamas control over Gaza.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Hamas government-in-exile in Damscus, Syria, led by radical Khaled Meshaal, rejects any peace negotiation with Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So when the Israeli Foreign Ministry reacts to well-intentioned EU peace proposals, calling them a stumbling block to peace, the EU must try to understand Israel s negotiating posture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The move led by Sweden damages the ability of the EU to take a role and be a significant factor in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, said the Israeli Foreign Ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Abbas threatened to quit and stopped peace discussions in part related to Israel s continued construction activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Presenting a peace proposal to the Foreign Affairs, EU seeks to get Israel to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Israel wants peace but not with preconditions, including current EU plans to give away territory seized during the 1967 Six-Day War. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Before the EU s Foreign Affairs Council recommends East Jerusalem as Palestine s capital, they should figure out a way of uniting Hamas and the Palestinians Authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>All the flowery promises mean nothing without ending irreconcilable differences between the two warring factions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The Council [of the EU] also reiterates its commitment to support further efforts and steps towards Palestinian statehood and to be able, at the appropriate time, to recognize a Palestinian state, responding to recent reports that the Palestinians would declare statehood, seeking U.N. approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can t have it both ways:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threatening to resign and, at the same time, pushing Israel to make more concessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>EU s FAC has implored Israel to halt all construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem without pushing Hamas and Fatah to reconcile.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Calling Israel s settlements, separation barrier and demolition of Palestinian homes  illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten make a two-state solution impossible, the EU has ignored the more salient obstacle to a Palestinian state:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Palestinians current civil war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Blaming Israel s long-running blockade on Gaza as  unacceptable and  politically counterproductive, the EU must also accept reality that Hamas remains at war with the Jewish State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>As long as Hamas and Fatah remain divided, there s no chance of negotiating a peace deal with half the Palestinian people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If Abbas can form a unity government with Hamas, it s possible to back to the table and win more concessions from the Israeli government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Israel won t make too many more concessions until Palestinians resolve their civil war and return to the bargaining table without preconditions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><bAbout the Author</u><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <i><a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> </i>and <i><a href="books.html"> Operation Charisma</a></i>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>