Land for False Promise of Peace

The Timesof London reports speculation that Barack Obama is going to endorse the so-called Saudi plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

The proposal gives Israel an effective veto on the return of Arab refugees expelled in 1948 while requiring it to restore the Golan Heights to Syria and allow the Palestinians to establish a state capital in east Jerusalem.

The article claims Shimon Peres has endorsed the plan as well as a “bipartisan” group of “elder statesmen.”

A bipartisan group of senior foreign policy advisers urged Obama to give the Arab plan top priority immediately after his election victory. They included Lee Hamilton, the former co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, a Democrat former national security adviser. Brzezinski will give an address tomorrow at Chatham House, the international relations think tank, in London.

Brent Scowcroft, a Republican former national security adviser, joined in the appeal. He said last week that the Middle East was the most troublesome area in the world and that an early start to the Palestinian peace process was “a way to psychologically change the mood of the region”.

Jay at Stop the ACLU points out that Israel gives up substanital land for only a promise of recognition and hopes Israel summarily rejects the idea.

Ed Morrisey expands on Jay’s notion that this is a one-sided deal:

It might make it palatable for some states like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to start diplomatic relations with Israel, and perhaps even Syria if they get back the Golan Heights. But who believes that Iran, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, and the proxy armies of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad will suddenly discover brotherly love with such a settlement? They want Israel wiped off the map, literally in Iran’s case, and the Israelis driven into the Mediterranean.

Charles Johnson has some similar comments, and some speculation that based on past history, the Times writer might not have the facts in his story.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud are likely to gain traction if Obama really does pursue this proposal.  Although every few years, Israelis tire of the continual violence and agree to vague peace agreements such as this.  Perhaps they will catch the Obama fever of hope and change.   This  plan does nothing to stop Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran and simply allows them time to regroup and plan for the next round of attacks.