Israel Offers Peace Talks, PA Says No

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington today to chat with President Barack Obama.  Before going into the meeting, Netanyahu made a big gesture by offering to meet with PA President Mahmoud “Abu Mazen” Abbas in direct peace talks.

Of course, Abbas gave the same answer he has given since Netanyahu became Prime Minister about a year ago: no.  Abbas is smart.  While I hate everything he stands for, he is not a dumb guy or he wouldn’t have become President of a national movement.  (Although George W. Bush was a national leader…)  Abbas realizes that, at the current status quo, the United States will keep chipping away at Israel until the Israelis have given the Palestinians everything they want anyway.

Israel is in a very difficult position today, and holding a true status quo situation is in the best interest of the Israeli people, outside of the far south and the Shalit family.  As long as Israel’s borders are secure and we are not giving away anything, Israel is not losing anything or making any permanent mistakes.  The Gaza withdrawal was evidence of the massive problems that are caused by making any unilateral move to help the Palestinians.  It ended up worse for us and worse for them.

Unlike the corrupt Ehud Olmert, I trust the Benjamin Netanyahu is really doing what he believes is best for the Israeli people and the Jewish people in the long run.  And, also unlike Olmert, what Bibi has in mind is a lot closer to what I think is best for Israel and the Jewish people in the long run.

Do you think Bibi is on the right track?  Should we hold the status quo or give something away?  Please give your thoughts in the comments.

This post was written by

Eric – who has written 1527 posts on The Israel Situation.

Eric is the founder and editor of IsraelSituation.com. You can follow him on Twitter as @DenverEric and read his personal blog at EricJRosenberg.com

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