When Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu returns from speaking at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC and meeting with President Barack Obama, a letter will be waiting for him.
From Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Demanding “preconditions” before Abbas will talk peace with Netanyahu.
And what are those preconditions? According to the Associated Press, “Abbas has long said he will not resume talks unless Israel freezes settlement construction on occupied lands and recognizes the pre-1967 war frontier as a baseline for talks on a border between Israel and a future Palestine.”
Why are those necessary preconditions before talk of peace, cooperation, and diplomacy can begin between the two nations? Shouldn’t there be a full openness towards peace without preconditions, as the same AP article says Netanyahu is interested in? (Netanyahu insisted that “negotiations resume without what he has portrayed as preconditions. A government official reiterated Saturday that Israel is ready to resume talks immediately.”)
Or maybe there should be preconditions to talk of peace. Of a different kind.
Maybe before Israel talks peace, Palestinian religious leaders should stop preaching hate and violence towards Jews and Israelis in their mosques and at community gatherings.
Or maybe before Israel talks peace, Palestinian television should stop indoctrinating Palestinian children to hate Jews and praise the murder of Israeli civilians?
Or maybe even before Israel talks peace, Palestinian community leaders should start publicly and consistently promoting the idea that Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, can and should live together in peace, rather than preaching that a Palestinian state means the destruction of Israel.
What do you think? Are there “preconditions” that Israel should demand before talking peace with the Palestinians? Why or why not?
(Photo: srqpix)
