I am writing in response to a letter supporting the most recent UN resolution condemning Israel. The resolution continued the UN's longstanding tradition of attacking Israel. It takes its place alongside the UN resolution equating Zionism to racism.
It follows the same pattern; only the excuse changes, and this time it was settlements. It does not move us closer to peace. It has the opposite effect because it rewards the Palestinian Authority's bad behavior.
How is Israel expected to make peace with a government that refuses to acknowledge Israel's right to exist and refuses to negotiate directly with Israel?
The conflict with the Palestinians is and has always been about Israel's very right to exist. That's the reason countless calls to sit with President Abbas for peace talks have gone unanswered. That's the reason an invitation to him to come to the Israeli Knesset was never answered. Peace in the Middle East is not an elusive dream. Israel made peace with Jordan and Egypt.
When a negotiated peace was reached with Egypt, Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula. Israel has proven that it can and will withdraw as part of a negotiated and honored peace agreement.
Israel has in fact withdrawn from Gaza in the interest of peace. As recently as August 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza strip in order to give real, lasting peace an opportunity to prevail.
In return, instead of peace, Israel had more than 7,000 missiles and mortar rounds fired from Gaza.
Going back to 2000, when U.S. President Bill Clinton arranged for peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Arafat; it was Arafat who refused to make a counter-offer to a peace proposal that gave the Palestinians 96 percent of the land they now control, 3 percent of Israel's land and the rights to Jerusalem's old city. Arafat walked away from creating a Palestinian state and deliberately turned to terrorism.
The sad truth is if Israel were to lay down its arms tomorrow, Israel would be attacked; but if Palestinians were to lay down their arms tomorrow, there would be peace. Alas, the truth can be a rare commodity in the Middle East. Reality can be hidden behind layers of myths and deceptions.
One such reality exists regarding between Israel and the Palestinians: No peace agreement will ever be reached or upheld unless it is attained through direct negotiations. The Palestinians choosing to go the United Nations is a political maneuver to pressure Israel and avoid direct negotiations. The truth is no third party can dictate terms that will be tolerable to the two parties. Sustainable peace cannot be imposed.
When the Palestinian maneuvers are supported in the UN, it sends a direct message to their leadership that negotiations are not important to peace. It invalidates the need for compromise from the Palestinian side. The actual important issues--Jerusalem, security, borders, refugees, recognition, and water--can only be determined by those whose futures will be affected.
But the Palestinians are far from the biggest threat to Israel. The biggest threat to Israel, the Middle East and the world, is the destabilizing force of Iran.
Recently occurring, the Iranian regime launched several provocations toward the international community and made inflammatory and challenging statements.
The biggest provocation was Iran intentionally testing several missiles in succession, including a medium-range ballistic missile that flew 600 miles, and a cruise missile, which flew 373 miles. Both of these missiles are believed to be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The verbal posturing was by a senior member of Iran's parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy commission, who told reporters, "Only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv."
Israel and the international community have condemned Iran's actions. We can only hope that this is not a sign of Iran's plans to continue on the path toward nuclear capability.
If you want peace in the Middle East, then do not focus on the Palestinians; rather, focus on Iran. Hold Iran accountable for their aggression.
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Harry Ehrenberg of Little Rock is owner of Ehrenberg Financial. He is recognized as an authority on personal finances by both state and federal courts.
Editorial on 02/21/2017