Palestine – Collective Amnesia Spells Collective Disaster…writes David Singer
US Secretary of State John Kerry has missed his own deadline of 31 January by not releasing his eagerly anticipated framework agreement designed to help end the 130 years old Jewish-Arab conflict. It will now be released by 21 February according to US Envoy Martin Indyk.
Whilst speculation is rife as to its contents – it appears certain that there will be one crucial omission – that any Palestinian State created must be democratic – which could doom any further negotiations.
A democratic Palestinian state finds its genesis in the 2003 Bush Roadmap – the foundation which underpins the current negotiations. The Roadmap stated:
“A two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be achieved … through Israel’s readiness to do what is necessary for a democratic Palestinian state to be established,
“A settlement, negotiated between the parties, will result in the emergence of an independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours.”
The full text of the Roadmap was presented to Palestinian and Israeli leaders by the Quartet mediators – the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia – indicating strong international support for a democratic Palestinian State as the end game to success.
By 27 November 2007 – when negotiations under the Bush Road Map were non-existent – President Bush assembled the following star-studded list representing their designated countries and organisations to announce that negotiations were set to commence in December:
| Description | Delegation | Title of Head of Delegation | Name |
| Parties | Israel | Prime Minister | Ehud Olmert |
| Palestinian Authority | President | Mahmud Abbas | |
| Quartet | United States | President | George W. Bush |
| EU Commission | Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy | Benita Ferrero-Waldner | |
| EU High Rep | High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union | Javier Solana | |
| EU President (Portugal) | Minister of State and of Foreign Affairs | Luis Amado | |
| Russia | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Sergey V. Lavrov | |
| UNSYG | Secretary General | Ban Ki-moon | |
| Quartet Representative | Middle East Envoy | Tony Blair | |
| Arab League Follow-up Committee | Algeria | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Mourad Medelci |
| Bahrain | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa | |
| Egypt | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Ahmed Aboul Gheit | |
| Jordan | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Salaheddin Al-Bashir | |
| Lebanon | Minister of Culture | Tarek Mitri | |
| Morocco | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Taieb Fassi Fihri | |
| Qatar | Minister of State for Foreign Affairs | Ahmed bin Abdulla Al-Mahmoud | |
| Saudi Arabia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Saud Al-Faisal | |
| Sudan | Ambassador | John Ukec | |
| Syria | Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs | Fayssal Mekdad | |
| Tunisia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Abdelwahab Abdallah | |
| Yemen | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Expatriate Affairs | Abu Bakr al-Qirbi | |
| Arab League SYG | Secretary General | Amre Moussa | |
| G-8, P-5 | Canada | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Maxime Bernier |
| China | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Yang Jiechi | |
| France | Minister of Foreign and European Affairs | Bernard Kouchner | |
| Germany | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | |
| Italy | Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs | Massimo D’Alema | |
| Japan | Special Envoy for the Middle East | Tatsuo Arima | |
| United Kingdom | Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | David Miliband | |
| Others | Austria
Brazil |
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of State for External Relations |
Ursula Plassnik
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim |
| Denmark | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Per Stig Moeller | |
| Greece | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Dora Bakoyannis | |
| India | Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences | Shri Kapil Sibal | |
| Indonesia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Noer Hassan Wirajuda | |
| Malaysia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar | |
| Mauritania | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation | Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine | |
| Mexico | Under Secretary | Lourdes Aranda | |
| Netherlands | Minister for European Affairs | Frans Timmermans | |
| Norway | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Jonas Gahr Store | |
| OIC | Secretary General | Ekemelddin Ihsanoglu | |
| Oman | Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs | Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdulla | |
| Pakistan | Foreign Secretary | Riaz Mohammad Khan | |
| Poland | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Radoslaw Sikorski | |
| Senegal | Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs | Cheikh Tidiane Gadio | |
| Slovenia | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Dimitrij Rupel | |
| South Africa | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma | |
| Spain | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Miguel Angel Moratinos | |
| Sweden | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Carl Bildt | |
| Turkey | Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief EU Negotiator | Ali Babacan | |
| United Arab Emirates | Minister of Foreign Affairs | Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahayan | |
| Vatican (Holy See) | Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Special Envoy | Pietro Parolin | |
| Observers | IMF | Managing Director | Dominique Strauss-Kahn |
| World Bank | President | Robert Zoellick |
They all heard President Bush state the following:
“We meet to lay the foundation for the establishment of a new nation — a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security…
… Today, Palestinians and Israelis each understand that helping the other to realize their aspirations is key to realizing their own aspirations — and both require an independent, democratic, viable Palestinian state…
No democratic State – no solution.
By 19 May 2011 Bush’s successor – President Obama – had started to vacillate:
“The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their full potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.”
If Obama and the Annapolis participants have conveniently forgotten that creating a “democratic Palestinian State” is fundamental to the conflict being ended – then they only have themselves to blame for the chaos and violence that will surely follow should Israel refuse to negotiate within a Kerry framework agreement that omits any reference to a democratic Palestinian State.
International treachery and duplicity would surely have triumphed over international diplomacy.
David Singer is a Sydney Lawyer and Foundation Member of the International Analysts Network
“ang on Paul !!!
So, IF that declaration or ANY declaration will include that magic word “democracy” do you really think that IT will make any difference. Let me tellya, my Hungarian friend : SOHA !!!
You can repeat in print and voice “democracy” till they would be all colours of the palestinian flag in the face,’cause those “democracy” loving palestinians would not know where to stick it in.
It occured to me that Kerry and his boss care as much about this issue as any true blue Alaskan would give a toss ( of ice ) about it. All these parading farcical shows of concern are but valuable opportunities for Isarel to remind all and sundries that the peace sttlement they are frothing about is dependent on the ACTUAL settlements of the rightful Jews in Judea and Samaria staying put. The rest is a boring waste of time while palestinian parazites shall devour the daily rations of international financial waste on them. It is a win-win situation……
David,
You state: “A democratic Palestinian state finds its genesis in the 2003 Bush Roadmap – the foundation which underpins the current negotiations.”
Underpins the current negotiations!
Kerry and Obama had no interest from day one of following the Bush Roadmap.
They have deviated so far off course as to make this “road map” a dirt track in the middle of nowhere. This is the track they want Israel to travel on and to date Israel has foolishly indulged their every whim.
It is time for you to get real and call a spade a spade.
Kerry and Obama are following their own script whose aim is the destruction of Israel. Shame on the vast majority of American Jews who voted for this administration. All the warning signs were there for those who had their eyes open and were not deaf.
Gil
You state:
“Kerry and Obama had no interest from day one of following the Bush Roadmap.
They have deviated so far off course as to make this “road map” a dirt track in the middle of nowhere. This is the track they want Israel to travel on and to date Israel has foolishly indulged their every whim.”
Kerry’s framework agreement will make it clear whether Obama has jettisoned the Roadmap as supplemented by the Bush letter and the Annapolis conference.
If he does – Israel will have every justification to refuse to negotiate any further under both the Roadmap and the Kerry framework agreement.
Well put, David. The points you make are valid and cogent. But will that minor matter of democracy matter to the Obumbler administration? I very much doubt it.
Barack Hussein Soetoro (aka Obama) and his merry mohammedan minions support Turkey’s democracy where fraud investigators are fired for unconvering – well – fraud, where thei military and the judiciary hsa been politicised and where the internet is more heavily censored than in China. This same Barakha, opposed the Egyptian general Sisi for overthrowing the democratically elected Morsi for not reason othr than that he was trying to make Egypt a Shari’a state. Obamaniac and the Jew hating State Dept are making Israel negotiate with the PA whose President is in the 9th year of his 4 year term and is held to be able to talk for the democratically elected Hamas controlled PNC which forgot to hold elections in 2010. Meanwhile the democratically elected Israeli government goes along with the fake negotiations with the PA, in spite of the fact that it refuses to recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people, one of the reasons for excluding Hamas from “peace” (oh, I can’t stop laughing) negotiations.
So is democracy important? Yes. Is omitting democracy from the conditions for peace, illegal. Almost certainly. Will the absence of democracy make a difference/ Only to small minded people creating a background noise trying to impede the grand design of pax americana.
Paul:
You ask – “Is democracy important… will the absence of democracy make a difference?”
Yes – because that is the only basis on which Israel agreed to negotiate with the PLO under the Bush Roadmap and Annapolis.
There is no other framework agreement agreed to by Israel and the PLO at this time.
If Kerry’s framework agreement does not provide for a “democratic Palestinian State” as the end game in the current negotiations – then Israel is perfectly entitled to tell America that it is no longer prepared to negotiate with the PLO.
It is as simple as that.
Such a material departure from the Roadmap entitles Israel to walk away from the negotiations.
There is a difference between a democratic Palestinian State guaranteeing regular elections, with a free press, where the citizens enjoy freedom of speech and the rule of law prevails when compared to the current undemocratic unelected and unconstitutional racist and apartheid President and Government – which has without any authority from its citizens declared that:
1. no Jews will be allowed to live within the borders of the new State
2. maintains it is entitled to continue to support the demand that millions of Arabs to be accepted by Israel.
3. refuses to recognize Israel as the Jewish National Home.
The grand design of pax americana can well founder on the background noise made by small-minded people like me – especially if it is backed up by a lot of other small minded people who object to America going back on one of the fundamental conditions of its own Roadmap proposals.