[PAA-Discuss] My letter to Viewpoints Chronicle

[Bob Carter]

 This is my offering to the Chronicle rebutting the oped at the bottom. I am not holding my breath waiting for it to be published. Would anybody else like to send a letter? If we submit 10 letters, just maybe one will be published.   
Bob
 
  
            Jewish Settlements
     Meir Shlomo contends that "Abbas must lead people to peace" in his oped in the Chronicle Tue. Sept. 28. I contend that Israel must lead.
   All of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank of Palestine are illegal according to U. N. resolution 242 and the 4th Geneva Convention. President Obama would not say that these settlements must stop if they were legal. As a token of peace, Netanyahu the Prime Minister of Israel agreed to halt the construction of these settlements for a short period of time. There would have been no reason for this offer if the settlements were legal. Construction resumed Sept  26 to the dismay of Obama and most of the world. President Abbas demands that the building of the settlements must stop and Israel blames Palestine for breaking the peace negotiations for their demand that Israel stop an illegal activity.  
     Peace begins when Israel's illegal settlements in Palestine ends. It's just that simple.  
 
Robert W. Carter
7007 Edgemoor
Houston, Tx 77074
713 771 9439
 
 
 
 
 


Abbas must lead people to peace
Success of talks is up to Palestinians
By MEIR SHLOMO
Consul General of Israel to the Southwest
Sept. 27, 2010, 9:42PM

 



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Shalom Houston. Having assumed my post as consul general of Israel only a month ago, I am often asked what my first impression of Houston is. Well, you may be surprised to hear that my first memorable impression of Houston had to do with nothing less than — fear.


As I ventured onto U.S. Highway 59 during rush hour my first day here, I could not help but feel a paralyzing fear of the traffic around me. While I needed to get home, at that point in time every exit seemed like a blessing, regardless where the exit would lead. 

Unfortunately, the way the Palestinians are conducting themselves during the latest attempt to revive the peace process reminds me of my first day of driving in Houston. As soon as they entered the road to peace, it looked as if they were already desperately searching for an exit. 
Almost one year ago, in November 2009, the Israeli government decided to implement a 10-month freeze on all new housing construction in the settlements, a gesture that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rightly called unprecedented. Israel explicitly stated at that time that this was a one-time gesture of good will. However, the Palestinian Authority swiftly rejected the gesture as "unacceptable," refusing to enter peace talks. Now, after wasting nine out of those 10 months turning a cold shoulder to both the U.S. efforts and Israel's good will, the authority is saying this once "unacceptable" moratorium is now essential for them even to attend the peace talks, the talks that are held precisely in order to discuss issues that are in contention by both parties, such as settlements. 
The whole logic behind peace talks is to create an opportunity to solve differences rather than use the differences to create new obstacles. Therefore, the Palestinian threat to leave the peace talks is reverse logic as well as unhelpful. 
Sure there are different views about settlements between Israel and the Arab world, but history has shown that settlements have never stood in the way of peace talks before when the parties were serious about achieving peace. Peace was accomplished with Egypt and Jordan without freezing construction in the settlements. Moreover, the Arab–Israeli conflict existed long before any settlement ever did. 
Both sides have complaints about the other's actions, but Israel is choosing not to use its grievances against the Palestinian Authority to threaten a boycott of peace talks. Israel prefers to find solutions at the negotiating table, not excuses for walking away from it. 
In order to achieve this peace, Israel is willing to compromise, but it takes two to tango, and peace talks are by no means a one-way street. We simply say, let us sit and settle our differences together — something that can only happen when both parties are serious about it. Israel has proven time and again that when an Arab leader extends a hand for peace, Israel always rises to the occasion. 
As President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan entered courageously the complicated and sometimes dangerous highway to peace, so now is President Mahmoud Abbas required to do the same. He must brave the paralyzing fear of extremists like Hamas and lead his people to their destination, instead of being tempted to find the first exit in the form of any pretext that is there. 
If President Abbas does so, he will find a willing partner. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated publicly, "My goal is not to conduct a (peace) process but to complete it." 
We can only hope that the Palestinians decide to stay on the highway to peace so that both peoples can live together side by side, in peace and security, ultimately reaching the true exit, the exit named peace. 
By the way, I did make it home that first day, and it was well worth the drive. 
Shlomo is consul general of Israel to the Southwest. 

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