Carter's Palestinian fantasy No. 242

[furman]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/16174033.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 06, 2006
Carter's Palestinian fantasy No. 242
By ASAF ROMIROWSKY

AS EX-PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter's new book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," hits the stores, it's worth looking into the infamous UN resolution 242 that he quotes so frequently.

Reading Carter's words gives no indication that Israel was the party that actually accepted 242 and the Arabs and Palestinians were the ones who rejected it.

In fact, after Resolution 242, the Arabs issued the equally infamous three "no's": No peace, no recognition, no negotiation.

<snip>

Palestinians and Arabs love to quote 242. It's become the foundation for the land-for-peace formula drafted after the Six Day War, and a superficial reading seemingly places Palestinian/Arab brokers of peace in a position of strength. For Arabs, this "legal" prerequisite emphasizes the give and take: If Israel valued peace, it would return land. If Arabs wanted land, they would give peace.

<snip>

As historian Michael Oren explains, "Israel accepted the resolution, albeit begrudgingly, as did Jordan. Nasser's response was more equivocal. While endorsing the UN's decision, he reiterated the three no's to his National Assembly... 'that which was taken by force will be regained by force,' and told his generals, 'you don't need to pay attention to anything I may say in public about a peaceful solution.' "

<snip>

And, in fact, when it came to implementing 242, Israel did turn over land time and time again: Sinai, the Oslo accords, the withdrawal from Gaza - in exchange for a cold peace at best and open warfare at worst.

During the Oslo years and the al-Aqsa intifada and today under the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, "land-for-peace" really translates into "land-for-talk" because to too many Americans and Europeans, talk - not peace - is all that Israel should expect (and possibly deserve), in exchange for territorial concessions. This is the motivation which drove Hezbollah to attack Israel this summer and what continues to fuel Hamas as it rejects Israel's right to exist.

IF THE Palestinians really want to talk about Resolution 242 as the basis for anything, they should first get their own territories under control, stop firing rockets at Israeli towns, and start creating a decent civil society.

Until then, Israelis have learned a hard lesson that until the other side stops wanting to wipe Israel off the map, resolutions like 242 really aren't worth the paper they're written on.


Asaf Romirowsky is an associate fellow at the Middle East Forum and manager of Israel & Middle East affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

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[RaleighNCDUer]

2. This guy has a very selective reading of history.

"As historian Michael Oren explains, "Israel accepted the resolution, albeit begrudgingly, as did Jordan. Nasser's response was more equivocal. While endorsing the UN's decision, he reiterated the three no's to his National Assembly... 'that which was taken by force will be regained by force,' and told his generals, 'you don't need to pay attention to anything I may say in public about a peaceful solution.'"

yeah, Nassar rejected the resolution. Fought another war, lost it, then accepted it, and Egypt got the Sinai back and has been a peace with Israel ever since.

He's trying to make the claim that one voice speak for all palestinians, or all arabs, it seems, but the reality on the ground is that Israel must negotiate with as many different entities as needed, and not let the negotiation break down with one, when there is a transgression by another.

Al Aqsa is not Hamas is not Hezbollah is not Syria is not Iran. Each must be treated separately. Rockets from the west back is not reason to send tanks into Gaza. Hezbollah threatening the north is not reason to refuse to negotiate with Syria. A separate peace IS possible with different players - witness Jordan and Egypt. And where peace has broken out, it is based on the guidelines of 242.