Palestinian Statehood

This week Palestinians will ask the United Nations to recognize Palestine as a state.  And everybody is freaking out.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is asking Palestinian Authority President Abbas for talks, instead of the UN bid.  But Abbas is determined to go through with the bid.  Some Israeli settlers are already protesting against any Palestinian state.  Israeli President Peres is talking to the leaders of various countries, asking them to oppose the bid, and Netanyahu is on his way to New York.

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue.  On the one hand, declaring a new state could seriously undermine any peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis.  Some Israelis are worried about an "ethnic cleansing" removing Jews from a new Palestine (I guess they've forgotten about the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians).

On the other hand, the peace process hasn't really worked so far anyway.  And maybe if there was a Palestinian state, it would be harder for Israel to continue illegally blockading parts of it.  I wonder if that is part of the problem.  Right now, Israel can claim to fight evil Palestinian terrorists who live nearby.  But if Palestine becomes a state, then Israel would be fighting another nation.  In some ways it would legitimize Palestinian attacks on Israel and delegitimize Israel "responses."  It will be interesting to see what happens this week.

Peace in the Middle East

I am all for peace, but I fail to see how Bush' s little summit is going to do anything. Olmert is incredibly unpopular back home in Israel, and Abbas does not represent all the Palestinians. How can you possibly expect a momentous outcome from their meeting? Anything that is agreed upon will only affect the territories held by Fatah, and the Israel government might not even go along with Olmert.

I also do not like the way Bush is pushing a 2-state system. I do see that as the only viable solution, but I would guess Bush & the Israelis would like the Palestinian state to be exactly where it is now, so the Israelis can keep their wall. And then if they are attacked by the new Palestinian state, they have a good excuse to retaliate, instead of just attacking refugees and civilians. At this point I cannot see Israel ceding any of its territory for a new Palestinian state. They (Israel) are the ones who need to compromise the most, because their compromise involves land and money and pride. Hamas may not want to acknowledge Israel's right to exist, and may want to destroy them, but that is something that is easier to change.