Dear Prime Minister,
You say you are committed to a two state solution in the Middle East which grants Palestinian self determination in return for guarantees of Israeli security. On your recent visit to America you declared that you wanted to see ‘a Palestinian state alongside a secure state of Israel’ and you wanted to see that ‘on the ground, not just in U.N. resolutions’. You restated these aims when you met Mahmoud Abbas in London earlier this year.
Let me say, Prime Minister, that there is nothing inherently ignoble about supporting Palestinian self determination, provided that it leads to the creation of another peaceful, democratic state in the Middle East. The majority of Israelis have long supported such a just and peaceful resolution of this conflict. They have long accepted the idea that Palestinian Arabs should have some form of territorial independence in a viable and contiguous state of their own. Indeed in the last decade, two Israeli Prime Ministers have offered almost the entire West Bank as the foundation of a Palestinian state, only to see their offers rebuffed on each occasion.
Nonetheless, I strongly urge you to re-consider your automatic support for the PA, and Mahmoud Abbas in particular. The simple reason is that the Palestinians are not interested in delivering their side of the bargain. In their equation, Israel has to give up land, emasculate its security and abandon the right to being called ‘the Jewish state’ in return for nothing
For Fatah spokesmen, the two state solution is a mere tactical ploy, a stepping stone to the destruction of Israel. They say so every day behind your back on Arabic television yet western leaders choose not to listen. These rejectionists are not Hamas spokesmen who you refuse to deal with. They are supporters and key members of Fatah, men sworn to Mahmoud Abbas, your ally.
If you want proof that Abbas is lacking in good faith, you only need listen to his recent statements, Prime Minister. He has consistently refused to accept Israel as a Jewish state. At the UN last week, during a speech in which he repeatedly demonised Israel as a racist, apartheid state, Abbas need only have accepted that he had no claim to Israel beyond the green line and that this land was the sovereign and inviolable territory of another UN member state. That would have been the start of ending this conflict. But he did not do so.
The simplest reason is that it would have meant abandoning his dream of a Palestinian ‘right of return’, the fictitious idea that 7 million Palestinian Arabs have a right to return ‘home’ to Israel. Yet hardly any of these 7 million are refugees in the true sense. In any case, what is the point in calling for Palestinian self determination when you want to settle your people in another sovereign state? It makes sense to have a Palestinian right of return to Palestine, not to Israel. In demographic terms, his demand would lead to the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. So why aren’t British ministers, your ministers, more alarmed whenever Abbas uses this language?
Worse than this, Abbas continually glorifies suicide bombers and terrorists who have wreaked havoc against Israeli civilians. He names public squares and sports centres after mass murdering terrorists, such as the infamous Dalal Mugrahbi. Instead of turning Palestinian writers, poets and artists into national heroes, he lionises killers. These are the role models for the next generation. The newspapers, radio stations and television programmes in the West Bank are full of anti semitic imagery that could have come directly from the Nazi era.
Is this statesmanship? Is this the way to promote goodwill or foster a spirit of amity and reconciliation between the two peoples? Is this not to foster a culture of hate that will keep the fires of this conflict burning?
Why do you remain allied to a Palestinian leader who encourages a demonic hatred of Jews? With resounding conviction you condemn fascists in England, like the notorious BNP. Why not show the same conviction for fascists abroad?
Worse than this, if your government votes to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN, it will endorse the very values that you claim to despise – racism, intolerance and homophobia. For Palestinian spokesmen have reiterated that they do not want a single Jew in their new state as the two peoples, in their view, need to be separated. They want to flood Israel with Arab people yet remain Judenfrei themselves. Gay people will not receive a welcome either and we already know that they are persecuted in Gaza. I would urge you to follow Obama’s lead and veto any recognition of ‘Palestine’ at the Security Council.
Prime Minister, you appear to show a genuine commitment to democracy, justice and liberal values in the Middle East. In light of the above facts, do you not have a moral imperative to re-consider your support for the Palestinian leadership?
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