Trump, Abbas and the Repeating Themes of the Middle East Peace Process

Recently, the current Palestinian Authority (PA) President-for-Life, crooked politician, and reigning Holocaust denier, Mahmood Abbas, met with President Trump in Washington D.C. The two discussed the prospects for “peace negotiations” between the PA and Israel. Trump seemed optimistic about these prospects; apparently, the PA’s recent decision to boost the financial rewards they give to the Palestinian terrorists and the families of these terrorists, has, in no way, chilled his enthusiasm.

The fact that Abbas flagrantly lied at the podium about his regime’s continued incitement of the Palestinians and the unique “occupation” of Palestinian land by the Israelis also is unlikely to slow the Trump administration’s peacemaking fervor.

I guess it comes with the territory. Well, good luck with that, President Trump.

The facts, they speak for themselves. Over and over again, in 1993-1995, 2000, 2001, 2005, and 2008, Israel has made real proposals or concrete actions to establish peace. Over and over again, especially during the past decade, the U.S. has put more pressure on Israeli leaders to give up more land to produce a “two-state solution” of “peaceful co-existence” between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. In return, each and every time, the leadership of the Palestinian Arabs, the Palestinian Authority, has either gone back on their word, increasing the incitement of their people and the number of sponsored terror attacks against the Israelis, and/or simply walked away from the proposal/action. Hamas, the Islamist terror gang in charge of Gaza, whose charter still calls for the genocide of Jews, has not even bothered to pretend that it was willing to negotiate peace with Israel.

It is quite obvious, based on this history, that the Palestinian leadership, and the Palestinian Arabs themselves, are not interested in a two-state solution and peace.

What they are interested in is the elimination of Israel.

Thus, continuing to promote American peacemaking policies, in this environment, is insane, if insanity is defined as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” A quarter century of U.S. promotion of the peace process has left matters far worse than when they started, in number of lives lost, and in the rise of the Palestinian Authority and that of Hamas, with their repression, violence, and corruption towards the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

But each time, without fail, the U.S. government publicly hopes that the next round of discussions will be, somehow, different, and finally lead to a breakthrough. And each time, the U.S. makes even more demands on Israel to give up even more land, and thus imperil their state’s security, without asking anything, but words, from the Palestinians. (Not that the Palestinians are necessarily even willing to mouth those words.)

Let’s stop the insanity.

Only last week, a new Congressional Caucus was created to do just this — the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus. The Caucus has adopted a new idea promulgated by Dr. Daniel Pipes and the Middle East Forum, which says that if the Palestinian war against Israel will not end through negotiations, then the U.S. should allow Israel to end it with a clear victory. The Endowment for Middle East Truth was a proud cosponsor of the launch of the Caucus.

Imagine that — letting Israel win on the battlefield.

Not only is this the right thing to do, based on the Jewish people’s more than three thousand years of history in the land of Israel, but also based on U.S. national interest. Israel is a major asset to the U.S., in projecting American power in the Middle East, in providing crucial intelligence to the U.S., and in creating advanced technology and other economic benefits for itself, the U.S., and the world.

Further, another Palestinian state would greatly endanger another important U.S. ally, the Hashemite regime of Jordan, which the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PA’s predecessor), in 1970, tried to depose. And possibly undermine other Arab nations as well.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority (and Hamas) provides the U.S. with nothing of any real value, and is virulently anti-American, supportive of terrorism, undemocratic, and has a poor human rights record. For those who don’t know, since the 1960’s, Palestinian terrorists have killed a total of 138 U.S. citizens, and wounded another 193, in Israel or the disputed territories. Among those who have harmed Americans was the notorious Dalal Mughrabi, a terrorist who murdered the niece of a U.S. Senator. Mughrabi has been highly honored by the PA. And, as mentioned before, the PA (and Hamas) subsidizes these terrorists, or the families of these terrorists.

Ironically, allowing Israel to be victorious would also dramatically improve the lives of the ordinary Palestinian Arabs. Compelling Palestinian society to give up its delusion of destroying Israel and Jews would allow them to focus on developing their own, more normal, culture and government, where parents don’t celebrate their children’s decision to become suicide terrorists.

In his book, “The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump claimed, “You can’t con people, at least not for long… if you don’t deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on.” Since the 1990’s, the Palestinian leadership has not delivered the “peace” they promised. Mahmood Abbas will not do it this time, either.

I hope and expect that President Trump will not be “conned” by Abbas for long.

Originally published at Newsmax: http://www.newsmax.com/AdamTurner/trump-mahmood-abbas-israel-peace-process/2017/05/09/id/789017/