Moderate Muslim politics on Israel
Via Armed Liberal over at Winds Of Change, we are directed to this 'positive' approach to peace in the Middle East, courtesy of Aziz at Eteraz:
And it isn't as if peace is an intractable solution. In fact it is quite simple: resolution of the conflict requires genuine sacrifice by both parties. The ideal framework would be along the lines of the Taba accords and the King Abdullah proposal. It will require that the Palestinians abandon the right of return, and accept some form of financial recompense in its stead to only those displaced families whose property claims can be verified. It will require that Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank, and relocate the settlers. It will require that a administrative body with authority over joint issues such as water rights and transportation be established. It will require NATO security guarantees of Jerusalem as a open city, the capital of both nations. It will require peace through diplomacy with Syria, with Damascus granted economic trade rights, security guarantees, and teh return of the Golan Heights in return for total cessation of military and financial support for Hizbollah. It will require bilateral normalization of diplomatic relations with every Arab country. It woudl require Israel to eventually be invited to join the Arab League and begin to interact with its neighbors as a neighbor and member of the regional identity, not a Western satellite. It will require Arab nations to carry Israeli satellite television as part of their media feeds and absolute sanitzation of all anti-Semitic rhetoric in their educational systems.In short, it will require that both sides accept as an axiom the humanity of the other, build a regional identity, and foster economic and cultural links.
Before I start, I'll note that Ali and Aziz are among the more moderate, truly peace-seeking Muslims you'll find; and Aziz started this essay with this:
I have become a hardliner in recent years. What moral righeousness the Palestinians had, they have squandered in their support for desperation acts of violence against the innocents in Israel.
But where is the hard line in the peace proposal? Israel has to pay the Palestinians for their land - but what about the displaced Jews from the West Bank? Israel to sacrifice the sovereignty of its capital to foreign countries (Hey, take a look at how well those foreign countries are doing on the northern border...). In exchange for not funding terrorists (something which Syria denies half the time anyway), Israel will concede a lot to Syria - land, trade rights, and security guarantees (of course, none of those for Israel!). Of course, Israel should give up its alliance with the US, so it can join the Arab League. About the only new piece of the proposal is the cleanup of the Arab school system, an unlikely proposition, sadly.
Aziz, I have a better proposal for you. The Arab League should unilaterally renounce violence, terrorism, and the support thereof against Israel. Its member nations should normalize relations with Israel. They should quash terrorists within their borders, and cease to export terrorists or munitions to terrorists. The Arab nations should cease to pervert the UN into an anti-semitic body, and instead focus on the true atrocities around the world. The Arab nations should take action to aid peaceful Palestinian activities, and thwart self-defeating terrorist acts. And the Arab nations and Muslim world should do this without any requirement from the Israelis or Western World. Why?
Only when there is a peaceful partner in the Palestinians will there be a just resolution.
Only when the threat of annihilation has been removed should Israel negotiate with those who vow to destroy her.
As for Taba, remember that the Palestinians were supposed to do very simple things. Renounce the mission of the destruction of Israel. Preserve specific Jewish holy sites. Have a police force, not an army.
Hmmm, 0-for-3. That's a strikeout.
