Don't Expect Peace

Don't bet on peace coming out of President Bush's much-belated efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

For one thing, the people whom the Palestinians elected to represent them are excluded. President Bush, hypocrite that he is, blathered about democracy, then changed his tune when Hamas won the last election. He cut off all aid to the Palestinians and sponsored a coup by the Fatah faction.

Secondly, the Israeli government is not about to dismantle the Jewish settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. The Israelis will not allow the Palestinians to have a viable state even on 18 percent of Palestine. Nor will the Israelis agree to allow the Palestinian refugees to return or even be compensated for their lost property.

The Annapolis meeting was just another charade like the one Bill Clinton staged. Eventually the Israelis will make an offer no Palestinian could possibly accept, and then the Israelis and the Americans will say, "We offered them a good deal and they rejected it." Note, too, that the only thing to come out of the Annapolis meeting was an agreement to reach an agreement by the end of 2008. This is the 40th year of Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank. They don't need a year if they are serious, which they are not. More...