A Europe with this stance cannot mediate with Israel
And so Sweden got its resolution passed by the European Foreign Ministers: a bombastic document that - out of the blue – envisages splitting Jerusalem in two parts and creating a Palestinian State with «no change at all with respect to the 1967 borders” unless the two parties recognize such change. Now, unfortunately, of the two parties, the Palestinians are those still opposing sitting around a table to talk. Therefore the basic condition does not exists and this, even for a child, would be a fundamental requirement before venturing to vaticinate about one of the thorniest issues in the world.
This is happening while Netanyahu has stopped any settlement in any part of the West Bank, thus splitting its Country on the altar of the resumption of talks: in fact, it is indeed a very difficult decision if we think – and nobody in Europe ever thinks about it - that the West Bank has been the essential strategic background – the bunker, the shelter, the hideout – for all the wars waged by terrorists and armies against Israel since the 1948.
The document is an improved version with respect to the Swedish
draft. Sweden had vowed to get even after the international scandal of
the daily Aftonbladet: the Foreign Minister Bildt had stood fast in
claiming the “freedom of expression” of the journalist – who later
repented – according to whom Israeli soldiers kill Palestinians to
trade their organs. A very good example of freedom of expression. The
document drafted by Sweden to successfully close its presidency at the
end of the month was as extremist as the Country. It recognized the
Palestinian state without further ado, while now the EU will do it
“when appropriate”. The Swedish draft talked directly about the
relationship between “Europe and Palestine” and pledged to recognize a
Palestinian state with a unilateral declaration; the new version
supports the plan. The original document did not acknowledge at all the
efforts made by Israel to freeze the settlements and not even to remove
the barriers against the freedom of movement for the Palestinians. Now
instead, without too much emphasis, it sees some initial steps in the
right direction even though its wording is still fraught with pity for
the usual stylemas of road blocks and misery. On the contrary, those
who travel from Jerusalem to Nablus no longer find any road blocks;
those who go to Ramallah or just listen to Abu Mazen see the town and
the Autonomy growing from the economic point of view. Even those who
arrive in Gaza see the shop windows full of goods to celebrate Eid
al-Adha. The earlier version of the document did not give a damn about
the security of Israel that is under the Islamist siege; the current
draft hints at these issues but it does not recognize any right to self
defense.
Italy and some other countries of 27 EU member states have worked to
smooth this deranged resolution; and again, according to the Israelis,
even this draft “will not help peace advance” and will instead impair
any mediation role of Europe.
After all, even though no negotiation has started, the present document
advocates the Palestinian claims over a city that, once split, would go
back to how it was from 1949 to 1967. A city split between a democratic
State that would keep it open and another one that has never proved to
respect other religions, that disseminates a constant anti-Jewish
propaganda on its media (for more information visit the Palestinian Media Watch),
and whose people – the ones ruled by Hamas – have never protested
against the Charter urging to eliminate Jews and Christians.
Moreover, the usual interpretation of history by the Palestinians suggests that the Jews are usurpers without any roots in Jerusalem and therefore they must leave. Nice preliminary condition for splitting the city. And so the EU has considered all the issues except for the most relevant one. i.e. the hatred against the Jews and the Islamist rage. This document features nine items and lists many themes ranging from the settlements to the lack of freedom of movement from Gaza, ignoring that there are concrete reasons for all this, that is the refusal to accept the Jewish State.
The EU will not become credible in the Middle East with this stance,
even if it is mitigated. It would have become far more credible if it
had reacted against the new situation in Lebanon where the Hezbollah in
the government – rearmed to teeth - have obtained to keep their
weapons. A State within a State, against the UN resolution, which also
established UNIFIL in which Italy is participating. As a result,
Lebanon is once again the slave of a foreign power, actually of two
foreign powers, Iran and Syria, the masterminds of the Hezbollah.
But the EU does not speak about this, or about the massacres of Palestinians in Lebanon; or about the Jordanians who are stripping them of their citizenship; about the domestic persecution conducted by Fatah - as reported by the Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh – against anyone who tries to support pacifist movements among the Palestinians. Those who really are in favor of peace in the West Bank risk their life. Those who pretend to do it can go on writing documents in Europe, that are designed to voice their dislike - let’s say - vis-à-vis Israel.