Friday, January 6, 2017

It could be a Treat or it could be a Trick

As surprising as it may sound, Martin Indyk made a suggestion that is promising. It can do a great deal of good if it is not a trick that's hiding booby traps designed to explode at a later date, and if it is implemented with sincerity and intelligence.

Indyk made the suggestion in an article he wrote under the title “Could an Embassy in Jerusalem Bring Us Closer to Peace?” It was published on January 5, 2017 in the New York Times. Actually, this title is misleading because the author speaks not of one embassy but of two American embassies in Jerusalem. One will be in Palestine's capital of East Jerusalem; the other will be in Israel's capital of West Jerusalem. Someone should tell the New York Times editors to strive for accuracy when choosing a headline. Or maybe not.

Because Martin Indyk was previously associated with Dennis Ross who is one of the most intellectually dishonest creatures ever to disgrace this planet by its presence, it is difficult to believe that Indyk has had a road-to-Damascus moment, and converted to the ideology of Truth and Fairness away from the ideology of Lies and Treacheries. But because the plan is simple and direct, we must – at least for now – give Martin Indyk the benefit of the doubt, and consider his article to be sincere.

The plan, in brief, goes like this:

Once in office, President Donald Trump announces to the Palestinians and the Israelis, as well as the world that he wants at least the Jerusalem part of the Palestine/Israel problem solved within three months as a first step to solving the entire Palestine problem. The carrot for the two sides in the conflict to come together and forge an agreement, will be that America will open two embassies; one in the Palestinian side of Jerusalem comprising the Arab suburbs, and the other in the Israeli side of Jerusalem comprising the Jewish suburbs.

As to the old city – delineated by its walls – a special regime will be set-up to administer the overall area, giving each of the three religions the right to administer its own holy sites. For all this to come together, the negotiations by the two parties will be convened under the auspices of America, Egypt and Jordan who will act as observers. And while the talks are ongoing, Israel will cease to construct any new edifice or demolish any existing one.

Having an American embassy on its side of Jerusalem being the carrot, not having it will have to be the stick that should deter bad behavior by any of the sides. That is, if one side refuses to negotiate, or negotiates in bad faith, it will be denied the American embassy, whereas the other side will be rewarded with it. But if both sides – while negotiating in good faith – still cannot strike a deal, America will work with Egypt and Jordan, and propose a solution. The three will write the solution in the form of a resolution and take it to the Security Council of the United Nations where it will undoubtedly pass, thus become international law.

To avoid this scheme from turning into a Dennis Ross kind of farce in case the two sides reach an agreement on Jerusalem, it must be made clear at the outset that Israel will not get its embassy until Palestine becomes eligible to get its own as well. That is, either a final status is negotiated, America gets to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state and opens the two embassies at the same time – or Israel will have to wait for its embassy till Palestine can be treated equally.

Failing this provision, Israel will do what it always does. That is, it will negotiate just enough to get an agreement on Jerusalem, thus gets its embassy. It will then scuttle all future attempts to negotiate a final status, thus negate Palestine's right to get its embassy. The net result – after all is said and done – will be that Israel will have maintained the status quo with the exception that it won the right to have the American embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

This will be a typically Jewish demonic trick of the Dennis Ross caliber. It will have been pulled off with the participation of Egypt and Jordan. And no one in the Arab world or anywhere will believe that the two Arab nations were conned. Instead, everyone will believe that Egypt and Jordan sold the Palestinians down the drain, and everyone will have a theory as to what those two received in return.

Meanwhile the editors of the New York Times will feel vindicated for choosing the title that they did.