Barack Obama’s “two state” peace plan would not just permanently divide the land of Israel. It would also permanently divide the city of Jerusalem. It is anticipated that the “Kerry Plan”, which is expected to be revealed to the public soon, will call for a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem without specifying the exact borders. According to some media reports, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has approached Palestinian leadership with the idea of locating the Palestinian capital in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina. Of course the details of any peace agreement will change as negotiations progress, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear – the Palestinians will never accept an undivided Jerusalem and the U.S. government is going to pressure Israel to hand part of the holy city over to them. But if Israel gives in and accepts a “peace plan” that includes the permanent division of Jerusalem, it will end up being absolutely disastrous for Israel, for the Palestinians and for the United States.
In many ways, the Obama administration finds itself stuck between a rock and a hard place, and the status of Jerusalem is the most “burdensome stone” of all. Obama and Kerry desperately want to cement their legacies by getting the Israelis and the Palestinians to agree to a peace plan before Obama’s term is over, but the two sides are far apart on a number of issues.
The Palestinians have convinced Obama and Kerry that they will never, ever accept a deal that does not include a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem, so Obama and Kerry have decided that their best bet is to try to get the Israelis to cave in on their demand for an undivided holy city.
It is now an open secret that the Kerry Plan is going to call for a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem. The following comes from a recent article by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times…
The “Kerry Plan,” likely to be unveiled soon, is expected to call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines), with unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley. The Israeli withdrawal will not include certain settlement blocs, but Israel will compensate the Palestinians for them with Israeli territory. It will call for the Palestinians to have a capital in Arab East Jerusalem and for Palestinians to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.
And the Palestinians clearly believe that the Kerry Plan will give them a capital in east Jerusalem. What Palestinian officials are concerned about now is that it will be too small…
Abbas said in his speech late Thursday that he would not compromise on a demand for a Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem.
Earlier Thursday, Abbas’ aide Mohammed Ishtayeh said he believes the Kerry proposal will only refer to such a capital “in Jerusalem,” raising fears the Palestinians will be asked to make do with a small part of the eastern sector.
And as I mentioned above, Kerry appears to be pushing for Beit Hanina to be the capital of the Palestinians. The following is an excerpt from a recent article in the Guardian…
Reported proposals for a Palestinian capital in the east Jerusalem suburb of Beit Hanina, Israel’s retention of 10 West Bank settlement blocs, permanent control of the Jordan valley and the demand to recognise Israel as a Jewish homeland do not add up to a package that would likely be acceptable to even the most pliable Palestinian leader: thus the claim that President Mahmoud Abbas “exploded” when told of it by Kerry in Paris last weekend.
Most people don’t realize this, but this has actually been in the works for a very long time. In another article, I detailed how Obama has been promising east Jerusalem to the Palestinians since at least 2009.
Obama is always careful with his words regarding Jerusalem in public speeches, but what happens in private appears to be another matter entirely.
And very few people know this, but Barack Obama’s brother is actually extremely anti-Israel. The following is from a recent article by Walid Shoebat and Ben Barrack…
While in Sanaa, Yemein in 2010, President Barack Obama’s brother Malik Obama was at an event billed as the Orphans Development Fund (ODF) Conference. It’s quite the ironic title considering a group photo Malik is in that he has posted to his website. In the photo, he can be seen wearing a Hamas scarf (keffiyeh) that bears a well-known Palestinian slogan – ‘Jerusalem is ours – WE ARE COMING!’ It also includes a map of Palestine that says, ‘From the River to the Sea!’ In other words, Malik is saying, THERE IS NO ISRAEL.
Here is that photo…
And the sentiments expressed by Malik Obama truly represent the beliefs of the Palestinian authorities.
They are fully convinced that the entire land “from the river to the sea” belongs to them, and that is why they will never recognize that Israel is a Jewish state.
In fact, the foreign minister for the Palestinian Authority reiterated this just the other day…
The foreign minister for the Palestinian Authority says Palestinians will “never accept under any circumstances” the idea that Israel is a Jewish state, negating the 3,000 year Jewish connection with the Holy Land.
Foreign Minister Riad Malki, in an interview with the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat characterized the Israeli government demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state as the most intractable issue facing the current round of peace talks sponsored by Secretary of State John Kerry.
“This is a sharply contentious issue. It would be dangerous to recognize this because this would mean our acceptance of the dissolution of our own history and ties and our historic right to Palestine,” Malki said.
Originally, the U.S. government was trying to get the Palestinians to agree to recognize Israel’s right to exist, but now the State Department has even backed down on this…
The United States believes there is no need for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to recognize Israel as a Jewish state as part of a peace agreement, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Saturday.
Psaki, who spoke to the PA-based Arabic-language Al-Quds newspaper, said, “The American position is clear, Israel is a Jewish state. However, we do not see a need that both sides recognize this position as part of the final agreement.”
Unbelievable.
What a “peace plan” – Israel is supposed to permanently divide the holy land and permanently divide the city of Jerusalem, and in return all they are going to get is a vague promise of peace that could be broken at any time. The Palestinians are not even going to be required to recognize that Israel has a right to exist.
And let there be no doubt – the Palestinians do not plan to ever have lasting peace with Israel.
Sheikh Ikrema Sabri, a very high-ranking Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, said the following just the other day…
“We know the confrontation with Jews and Zionism will not end tomorrow. This is going to be a long confrontation and I have no doubt that Muslims will triumph in the end.”
These are not people that want peace. Just recently, Hamas unveiled a giant statue of a rocket aimed at Israel, and it runs paramilitary camps for teens that train them “to follow in the footsteps of the suicide martyrs“.
In fact, during a graduation ceremony for those camps, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said the following…
“Love death for the sake of Allah as much as our enemies love life”
And Fathi Hamad, the Interior Minister for Hamas, made it very clear at that same event who those “enemies” actually are…
“This generation, Allah willing, will vanquish Israel,” said Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad.
“Let me congratulate you on your future victory,” Hammad continued, “and on the annihilation of Israel. As I said yesterday, they only have eight years left.”
Sadly, the young people that are being indoctrinated at these camps are totally buying into the propaganda…
Omar Dawabha, an eleventh-grader who took part in the training, was quoted on the website of Hamas’s interior ministry saying that “he learned how to safeguard our rights and principles.” Another student, Mohammed Abu Nar, addressed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem at the graduation ceremony.
“We are the pioneers of liberation, we are coming to purify you from the Zionists,” he said.
Anyone that believes that there will be lasting peace in the Middle East in such an environment is just being delusional.
Remember, Hamas actually controls Gaza and they have very strong support in the West Bank as well.
In a previous article, I detailed how peace with Israel is absolutely antithetical to everything that Hamas stands for. Just consider a few quotes from the Hamas Charter…
-”Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
-”The land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf [Holy Possession] consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgment Day. No one can renounce it or any part, or abandon it or any part of it.”
-”The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews [and kill them]; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: Oh Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!”
But Israelis are always told that if they will just give in to the Palestinians a little bit more that it will bring lasting peace.
Unfortunately, as Caroline Glick has noted, those promises never seem to come to fruition…
In 1993 we were told that the Palestinians as a whole would embrace peace once Israel recognized the PLO and allowed it to set up an autonomous government in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. In the event, the Palestinians became more violent and radicalized and anti-Jewish under PLO rule, until in 2006 they elected Hamas to lead them.
In 2005 we were told that once Israel vacated Gaza, the Gazans would abandon their war against Israel and use their energies to transform Gaza into a Middle Eastern Singapore. Instead they transformed it into a Middle Eastern Afghanistan.
In 2007, after Hamas ousted the PLO from Gaza, we were told that the international community would pour so much money into the PLO-run PA in Judea and Samaria that the Gazans would decide that they want the PLO back. Instead, Hamas has grown more popular in Judea and Samaria.
But despite everything that has happened in the past, and despite all of the public declarations from top Palestinian officials about how they intend to annihilate Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu still intends to make a “historic” peace deal with them…
A Palestinian peace deal could open up economic growth across the Middle East, Binyamin Netanyahu told US supporters on Tuesday, but is still held back by security concerns and a lack of recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
In the most upbeat of recent comments during his trip to Washington, the Israeli prime minister highlighted the potential regional benefits of the US-led peace process, even while making it clear he believed significant hurdles remain.“I am prepared to make a historic peace with our Palestinian leaders,” he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual conference in Washington.
So what do you think the end result will be?
What do you think will happen to Israel?
What do you think will happen to the Palestinians?
What do you think will happen to America?
Please feel free to share your thoughts by posting a comment below…
About the author: Michael T. Snyder is a former Washington D.C. attorney who now publishes The Truth. His new thriller entitled “The Beginning Of The End” is now available on Amazon.com.
