> One might conclude from this that there is *nothing* that Rabin or
> Barak could have offered--short of the abolition of Israel, and the
> removal of the bulk of its population from the region--that would
> satisfy the Palestinian Authority.
.
What would happen if you applied this type reasoning to Israel? Lieberman,
Levy, and Ze'evi (who openly advocates "transfer" of all Arabs to Jordan)
are all currently voting members of the cabinet....
Seth
---
Ha'aretz January 22, 2001 LENGTH: 424 words
HEADLINE: SHARON'S 'MODERATE' IMAGE RUINED BY RIGHT
BODY:
Sources at the campaign headquarters of Likud candidate Ariel Sharon are accusing right-wing politicians of "destroying the campaign of Sharon, who wants to convey a moderate political and security position." They were commenting on recent statements by MKs Avigdor Lieberman (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu), Rehavam Ze'evi (Moledet) and Yitzhak Levy (National Religious Party).
"Lieberman's apocalyptic vision of an all-out war and Israeli missiles landing on Egypt and Iran, Ze'evi's threat to topple the Sharon government if it were to hand back territories to the Palestinians, and Levy's 'revelation' that Sharon is deceiving the public with his promise to bring peace, are causing us huge damage," a senior source at Sharon's headquarters said yesterday.
"This is exactly the opposite of what we want to convey to the public," the source added. "We are able to dam up the mouth of Sharon, but we have no control over the mouths of the partners." Sharon rejected Lieberman's statements yesterday, saying he did not agree with them and that only he Sharon would be responsible for determining the policies of the Likud government.
> ----------
> From: Brad DeLong[SMTP:delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU]
> Reply To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Sent: Monday, July 16, 2001 2:01 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Subject: Long-term Goals of the Palestinian Authority?
>
>
> The late Faysal Al-Husseini, Palestinian Authority Minister for
> Jerusalem Affairs_ in _Al-Arabi_:
>
> "...The "strategic" goals are the "higher goals," the "long-term
> goals," or the "unwavering goals," the goals that are based on solid
> Pan-Arab historic rights and principles. Whereas the "political"
> goals are those goals which were set for a temporary timeframe,
> considering the [constraints of] the existing international system,
> the balance of power, our own abilities, and other considerations
> which "vary" from time to time.
>
> "When we are asking all the Palestinian forces and factions to look
> at the Oslo Agreement and at other agreements as "temporary"
> procedures, or phased goals, this means that we are ambushing the
> Israelis and cheating them. However, the truth is that we are doing
> exactly what they are doing. The proof for that is that they are
> aware of, and are not trying to hide, the fact that there is nothing
> that unites them more around the territory which extends from the
> Nile to the Euphrates, than their slogan, which was taken from the
> Torah, and reads: 'These are the borders of the greater land of
> Israel.'"
>
> "If, for some reason, they had to temporarily declare their state
> over "a part" of the greater land of Israel, they would publicly
> declare that this is their "political" strategy, which they will have
> to temporarily accept due to international circumstances. On the
> other hand, their "higher strategy" is always "The Greater Land of
> Israel."
>
> "We are [acting] exactly like them. In 1947, in accordance with [the
> UN] Partition Plan, they decided to declare statehood on 55% of the
> land of Palestine, which they later increased to 78% during the War
> of 1948, and then again [increased it] to 100% during the War of
> 1967. Despite all that, they never attempted to make secret of their
> long-term goal, which is "Greater Israel" from the Nile to the
> Euphrates. Similarly, if we agree to declare our state over what is
> now only 22% of Palestine, meaning the West Bank and Gaza - our
> ultimate goal is [still] the liberation of all historical Palestine
> from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea, even if this
> means that the conflict will last for another thousand years or for
> many generations....
>
> "Palestine in its entirety is an Arab land, the land of the Arab
> nation, a land no one can sell or buy, and it is impossible to remain
> silent while someone is stealing it, even if this requires time and
> even [if it means paying] a high price....
>
> However, what I am able to achieve and live on right now, due to the
> international system, is not, of course, Palestine "From the river to
> the sea." In order for us to fulfill all of our dreams regarding
> Palestine, we must, first of all, wake up and realize where we are
> standing.... The real danger is that I might forget [it], and while
> advancing towards my short-term goal I might turn my back on my
> long-term goal, which is the liberation of Palestine from the river
> to the seaS"
>
>
> One might conclude from this that there is *nothing* that Rabin or
> Barak could have offered--short of the abolition of Israel, and the
> removal of the bulk of its population from the region--that would
> satisfy the Palestinian Authority.
>
>
> Brad DeLong
>