Diplomatic Intevention

"A diplomat's mission is to build bridges and bring people together, not to foster confrontation. These diplomats have evidently failed at this mission."
Yigal Palmor, spokesman, Israeli foreign ministry

NGOs have their own agenda, generally speaking. They are of a fixed mind when it comes to the status of oppressor/oppressed with respect to the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority which enjoys nascent-state status, aspiring to the full recognition of officially blessed sovereignty. Which, in fact, the PA has been meticulous about putting off for another day.

Far preferring to cast stones at its erstwhile partner in peace discussions with a view of clearing up controversial issues between itself and Israel. Declaring Israel to be an aggressor against the wishes of the Palestinian people to become fully self-administered, as a functioning state with world recognition. But incapable of reaching that desired pinnacle because of Israeli intransigence.

A strangely palatable situation to the European Union whose canted bias remains steadfastly in the favour of the manipulative PA, portraying itself as the world's longest-lasting victim of Jewish aggression. A geography meant to be shared, being stealthily overtaken by illegal means. On the other hand, there is nothing evidently illegal about violent attacks replacing genuine confabs for peace.

There are endless demands that Israel surrender to Palestinian needs and desires. And when it does with the exasperated realization that this will be the only manner in which discussions can take place and a separate state achieved, the PA-appointed bargainers loftily declare themselves dissatisfied and leave the bargaining table.

This ancient, dessicated history of two solitudes and grave dysfunction is somehow handily overlooked with the bare bones scaffolding of Israeli West Bank settlements presenting as conspiratorial evidence of sandbagging peace efforts. The more time that elapses, the greater the settlements represent an upheaval of rational planning for a two-state solution.

Israel is prepared and willing to carve out in equal measure land currently within its borders with majority Muslim populations to trade off with the West Bank settlements, a reasonable enough solution to what is calculated to be an intractable situation of Israeli intransigence. It is not deemed by the EU to be intransigence when the 'right of return' is demanded, when it is demanded that Israel surrender its most holy Judaic heritage site to the possession of Muslims once again.

The European Union and its diplomats and politicians have a view to staging a diplomatic solution to the stand-off between Israel and the PA respecting borders and issues, leading to a final agreement. But they were unable to resist the allure of funding NGOs to arrive at their predetermined statement of bias assigning sole blame to Israel, and recommending penalties to be attached to that blame.

In the next few weeks, it is assumed that the European Union will be prepared to embark on a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative. Their demonstrated lean toward assigning one-sided responsibility through the release of a report slamming Israel for a policy of settlement building as "systematic, deliberate and provocative", representing "the biggest single threat", to a two-state solution, does not pave the way for success.

By alienating and insultingly blaming one party, overlooking the responsibilities of the other, the stage has been set for more confrontation and blame, not a reasonable debate with any hope of reaching mutually agreeable settlements leading to a final solution of the problems facing both litigants.

Israel represents just about the only country of the world that has ever managed to defend itself from a coalition of much larger forces intent on its destruction. And in the process finally restoring its primary heritage site of immeasurable cultural and religious value from the control of those who adamantly disallowed entry to Jews.

In the history of human relations, the defending country - which managed to vanquish a conquest-determined horde - who took territory in defeating such assaults, would retain the additional land it now occupied. Israel has restored some of the land it had taken in defeating the combined Arab armies that set out repeatedly to obliterate its presence from the Middle East.

That restoration aided in the signing of peace treaties with Jordan and with Egypt. Israel knows how to be magnanimous. But its generosity and humanity are taken for granted, and none is ever expected from its adversaries. Low expectations are the norm when referring to the behaviour of the Palestinians, viewing themselves as victims, and their sympathizers.

With good enough reason on Israel's part, as its unilateral withdrawal from Gaza proved, when the Gazan Palestinians repaid the relinquishing of land through abandoning the Israeli settlements there with final withdrawal, by an explosion of attacks into Israel that saw no relief until a restraining wall was built for self-protection.

After this latest fiasco on the part of the European Union, can they really believe that trust in their ability to neutrally act as peace middleman can be respected?