It is Israel - and Israel alone - that receives pressure to make
concessions. The only pressure on the Palestinian side is to show up at
these road shows in order to be handed another pound of Israeli flesh. It
isn't a piece of land that the Palestinians want. It is all the land. They
say so. Through six wars and numerous intifadas and other terrorist attacks,
the Palestinian Charter, sermons, newspaper editorials and many other
outlets, the message is clear: Israel is an illegal occupier of Muslim land
and must be evicted by any means necessary.
The United States and the rest of the diplomatic world that believes there
is an as-yet undiscovered formula that will tame Israel's enemies is
self-deluded to the point of self-destruction. Having destroyed Israel, it
won't end there. Crazed Islamic fanatics will sign up in droves for the
"honor" of coming to America to blast away at our foundations. In fact,
according to our ludicrously named Department of Homeland Security, they are
already here because we willingly let them in under the same misguided creed
that guides U.S. policy in the Middle East. If we just show them how
welcoming and wonderful we are, they will see we mean them no harm and
change their minds about killing us.
Republicans mocked such sentiments when the left suggested in the '80s that
unilateral disarmament would persuade the Soviet Union we meant them no
harm. Now, members of the Bush administration are applying this same illogic
in Annapolis and expect a positive response. It, too, deserves derision.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces possible indictment at home for
allegedly trading political favors for a large discount on a home he
purchased in Jerusalem. If he buckles in Annapolis to pressure for more
concessions without first demanding the Palestinian side live up to previous
agreements, his actions will move from alleged malfeasance to a sellout of
his country's interests.