Saturday, September 24, 2011

Mitt Romney op-ed: Mistakes That Led to the Palestinian Statehood Bid, and How to Fix Them

The following is an op-ed in the National Review by Mitt Romney and his special advisor Norm Coleman:

Mistakes That Led to the Palestinian Statehood Bid, and How to Fix Them
This Friday, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas will appeal to the General Assembly for United Nations recognition of Palestinian statehood. We need to be completely clear about what is transpiring. This is not a step forward in the quest for peace and, legally, will not create a Palestinian state. Rather, it is a step forward in the vicious campaign to delegitimize the State of Israel.

The Palestinian action in the United Nations does not conform to the process for arriving at a two-state solution laid out in the Oslo Accords. Indeed, it is taking place in naked defiance of an agreement to which the Palestinians are signatory. Its effect will be to once again dash the hopes of all who seek lasting peace in the Middle East.

This is an especially dangerous moment for the state of Israel. It has deteriorating relationships with Turkey and Egypt. It faces longstanding dangers from Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, a violent and highly unstable Syria, and a nuclear-aspiring Iran. United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state at this juncture will serve only to further isolate the Jewish state, sap its confidence in the peace process, and exacerbate regional tensions.

Worse, because it will not change the facts on the ground, it will raise and then dash Palestinian and Arab expectations. This increases the likelihood of violence, particularly at a moment when despots like Bashar al Assad want nothing more than to divert attention from their internal crises by scapegoating Israel.

Without question, a blow is being struck against peace. How did we arrive at this point?

Unfortunately, the road was paved largely by a series of mistakes and miscalculations by President Obama. He and his administration have badly misunderstood the dynamics of the region. Instead of fostering stability and security, they have diminished U.S. authority and painted our ally Israel into a corner.
Read the rest of the op-ed HERE.

Here is the speech of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas at Friday's United Nation General Assembly meeting:




Here is the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Friday's United Nation General Assembly meeting:




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