Carter's Israel Problem

Let's get this straight. Former President Jimmy Carter thinks Israel is to blame for the violence in the region and the continuation of the Palestinian-Israel conflict. He's blaming Israel for the terrorism that is heaped upon it by the Palestinians - the same Palestinians whose charters call for the annihilation of Israel. The Palestinians repeatedly state they do not want a 2-state solution. They want their state supplanting Israel. Fatah's leaders might speak of a 2-state solution in their English language interviews, but the Arabic interviews and the official position of the Palestinian Authority - down to the maps and educational materials provided to students do not show a 2-state solution, but rather the Palestinian state standing where Israel once stood.

Carter blames Israel for the failure of the roadmap. Funny, but the roadmap calls for an end of Palestinian incitement to violence against Israel. The PA has never ended its incitement of violence towards Israel, and its latest iteration includes Hamas, which is thoroughly indoctrinated in the destruction of Israel as a core tenet. Every time you turn on a television with a Hamas official, they're calling for the destruction of Israel and refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist. Sounds to me like incitement to violence.

Carter yammers on about how there are so many Palestinians in Israeli prisons or that there have been so many Palestinians killed over the years by Israelis in relation to the few Israelis killed. Could it be the Palestinians have widespread animosity towards Israel that so many have taken up arms, suicide belts, and engaged Israeli forces with arms, rockets, firebombs, and that Israelis have responded with force in arms. That fewer Israelis have been killed by Palestinians is a testament to the work of the IDF and Israeli security forces in stopping the Palestinian terrorists from carrying out their deadly deeds. That there are so many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails shows that the Israelis are more than willing to capture and hold those who have taken criminal action against Israelis and not simply killed them outright - as Palestinians will often do to alleged collaborators.

The Palestinian terrorists kill Israelis on purpose. They target Israelis with rocket attacks (still more rockets hit Sderot today) and violate the latest hudna, requiring Israeli officials to state that they're going to respond with restraint. If only the Palestinians showed that kind of restraint.

Carter's bass-ackward when he thinks that Israel has been an impediment to peace.

But as it stands right now, we're about to witness Madrid redux. Forget that Oslo ever existed because we're right back to where we were before then except that the Palestinians now control Gaza and have turned it into Hamastan, taking their cues from Hizbullah (who are also 'helping' out the Shi'ites in Iraq btw). With Baker and the boys trying to relive the Madrid Conference, down to forcing Israel to make yet more concessions for 'peace' in the region, this is a dangerous time for Israel, and I really don't think Israel's leadership is up to the task.

Olmert put forth Israel's latest bunch of concessions, and even that is insufficient for the likes of Hamas.

Now, in Olmert's defense, he could be thinking that he's playing rope-a-dope with the terrorists, figuring that if the Palestinians simply act like they always have and throw the terms of the Israeli offer back in Israel's face much as Arafat did to Barak in 2000, that Olmert will have much wider latitude to deal with the Palestinian terrorists in the territories. I don't think it will play out the way Olmert thinks, but it is one rationale that could make sense. Of course, the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, so Olmert may be on to something - though I doubt he's got the willingness to see this through including using the kind of force necessary to crush Hamas, Fatah, and PIJ once and for all.

UPDATE:
It would appear that Olmert didn't exactly run the idea of a ceasefire before the IDF advisors who were busy planning a major operation in Gaza to break the terror groups.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not fully consult with the Israeli army before agreeing to a cease-fire with Palestinian militants two days ago, according to Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff Dan Halutz.
IDF sources and several prominent Knesset members said the cease-fire will damage Israel's security by allowing Palestinian groups to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza. They said the truce would provide down-time for militants to train for attacks against Israel.

The IDF has been petitioning for a large-scale assault in Gaza.

A large scale assault, coupled with secrecy, initative, and large numbers could have caught the terror groups and their leadership off guard, and enabled the Israelis to pick off the terrorists instead of having to deal with the current stalement.

Technorati: terrorism, nasrallah, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Regev, Goldwasser, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.