Palestine – Abbas Emasculates Quartet, Humiliates United Nations and European Union
PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s failure to accept the recent Quartet Report has effectively emasculated the role of the Quartet and humiliated the United Nations and European Union in their efforts to resolve the 100 years old Arab-Jewish conflict…writes David Singer.The Quartet website points out:
“Established in 2002, the Quartet consists of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia. Its mandate is to help mediate Middle East peace negotiations and to support Palestinian economic development and institution building. It meets regularly at the level of the Quartet Principals (United Nations Secretary General, United States Secretary of State, Foreign Minister of Russia, and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and at the Special Envoy level as well.”
Given the Quartet’s crucial role – Abbas should have accepted the Report with equanimity and pledged his readiness to stamp out reprehensible conduct identified in the Report:
“Palestinians who commit terrorist attacks are often glorified publicly as “heroic martyrs.” Many widely circulated images depict individuals committing terrorist acts with slogans encouraging violence. The spreading of incitement to violence on social media has gained momentum since October 2015, and is particularly affecting the youth.”
As Chairman of Fatah – the dominant faction in the PLO – Abbas would not have enjoyed reading the Quartet’s following condemnation of his failed leadership:
“Some members of Fatah have publicly supported attacks and their perpetrators, as well as encouraged violent confrontation. In the midst of this recent wave of violence, a senior Fatah official referred to perpetrators as “heroes and a crown on the head of every Palestinian.” Fatah social media has shown attackers superimposed next to Palestinian leaders following terrorist attacks”
Abbas was subjected to the following further criticism:
“Regrettably, however, Palestinian leaders have not consistently and clearly condemned specific terrorist attacks. And streets, squares and schools have been named after Palestinians who have committed acts of terrorism.”
Abbas’s pathetic response was to claim that the Report:
“does not further the cause for peace…We hope that the Security Council does not support this report,”
Abbas can’t be serious. Asking the United Nations to reject a Report to which it is a contributing party is incomprehensible. Expecting the European Union to act likewise would be irrational.
Abbas joins a long list of Arab leaders who rejected offers made possible by the efforts of the international community to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict in 1922, 1937, 1947, 2000/1 and 2007.
The conflict could have been ended between 1948 and 1967 with the stroke of an Arab League pen – after six of its member-State armies invaded Palestine in 1948 and forcibly expelled every single Jew living in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), Gaza and East Jerusalem.
United Nations and European Union calls for the creation of a second Arab State in former Palestine – in addition to Jordan – since the 1980 Venice Declaration have been mistakenly construed by the PLO as a license to unrealistically demand:
- The return of millions of “refugees” to Israel
- Establishment of the prospective State of Palestine in all of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital
- Non-recognition of Israel as the Jewish National Home
The United Nations and the European Union have gone to extraordinary lengths to continue supporting the PLO despite the continuing terror, hatred and incitement now identified in the Quartet Report.
Abbas fumes and fulminates whilst illegally clinging to power.
Attacking the Quartet – and by association – the United Nations and European Union – are acts of unbelievable ingratitude and incredible political stupidity.
Abbas has sown the seeds for his own political demise.
David Singer is a Sydney Lawyer and Foundation Member of the International Analysts Network
Well documented and argued, David, but as usual, you reach the conclusion you hope for and which would be logical all the while ignoring reality. Reality as it operates in the muddled east and as it operates when Israel is involved.
Had abu Mazen’s arrogant dismissive rant been inappropriate for his purpose, the Quartet would have criticised him. It stayed shtum! That means that the Quartet will go back to the drawing board and devise more way to pressure Israel without making any more futile calls for the PA to meet its signed undertakings.
Paul
The Quartet has not remained shtum
http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2016/160722_04_en.htm
You can read all about it in my next article.
When you become drunk on populism and PC, you forget about being rational. This is what happened to Abbas. He thinks no matter how outrageous, like telling an adoring audience at the EU parliament that rabbis poison Palestinian water, life is a free lunch.
See the recent satire on mindless populism ” the trombone man: tales of a misogynist,” based on some actual events. An adoring world will buy anything.
But the EU doesn’t seem to notice. In fact, it just keeps on appeasing Abbas et al and “buying” their narrative.
Thus, after the summer break, it will discussing a “reference document” for meetings of EU foreign ministers and for proposals put forward by the EU, in which Israel is blamed for the violence that started to peak in October 2015.
The assertion is that this wave of extra violence “began after right-wing Israeli politicians and religious groups began to question the status quo on Arab rights at the Temple Mount complex in the Old City.” The document also claims that “the loss of hope in a two-state solution and poor living conditions formed the “psychological root” for the terrorism” – and therefore, there are no commonalities between the terrorism experienced in Israel and that experienced elsewhere.
Mr Netanyahu doesn’t help by making bald-faced statements about the phenomena being “exactly the same” because this pushes the EU to become more stiff-necked about its own over-simplified view.
Dina, even if Mr Netanyahu were to capitulate in the same way as Mr Ehud Barak did in 2,000 and Mr Olmert did in 2008, do you really believe that the EU would stop blaming Israel for all the world’s problems?
The EU will always find fault with Israel; do you know why? Because the Arabs who call themselves ‘Palestinians’ will be satisfied with nothing less than Israel’s suicide.
The EU is a moribund, morally bankrupt entity, just as the UN is, and, unfortunately the USA is also on that kind of trajectory.