February 13, 2009

Israel after the election

By Richard Baehr
The other night I was on Rick Moran's radio program  to discuss the Israeli election results with Professor Barry Rubin. The single most interesting observation offered by Professor Rubin, was that in Israel, across the broad political spectrum, almost no one thinks the Palestinians are a serious negotiating partner. There are very few Israelis who remain hopeful about the prospects of any peace process. The Party, most associated with the "logic" of Israel withdrawing from West Bank settlements to foster the chance for peace and a two state solution, is Meretz. They won 3 seats of 120. This is a sign that Israelis understand the reality of their situation -- that the Palestinians are far more interested in negotiating an accord between Fatah and Hamas, than between Israel and the Palestinians. Israelis seem to understand that a withdrawal from the West Bank would more than likely bring the Gaza/southern Israel rocket situation home to millions more Israelis. That is...(Read Full Article)