NEW YORK (IJN) Although Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas didnt budge this week on his stated bid to introduce his unilateral declaration of independence for Palestine at the United Nations on Friday, Sept. 23, US President Barack Obama nonetheless spent much of his address to the UN on Wednesday urging him to reconsider.
In a lengthy and well-received speech that covered considerable international terrain, Obama sandwiched his commentary on Israel and the Palestinians between comments on everything from Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring to US involvement in Afghanistan and the Iranian theocracy.
Binding his themes together was a recurring line Peace is hard an idea which Obama emphasized repeatedly in stating his opposition to the PAs statehood bid.
Describing himself as a supporter of an independent Palestine Obama acknowledged the fact that Palestinians are frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations with Israel.
But the question isnt the goal that we seek the question is how do we reach that goal, Obama stated.
And I am convinced that there is no short cut to the end of a conflict that has endured for decades. Peace is hard work. Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now.
Peace, the president indicated, will only come about when Israelis and Palestinians, working together, agree to the terms of that peace, not by any unilateral declarations.
We seek a future where Palestinians live in a sovereign state of their own, with no limit to what they can achieve, Obama told UN delegates. Theres no question that the Palestinians have seen that vision delayed for too long.
It is precisely because we believe so strongly in the aspirations of the Palestinian people that America has invested so much time and so much effort in the building of a Palestinian state, and the negotiations that can deliver a Palestinian state.
As comforting as those words might have been for Palestinian listeners, however, Obama was clear and firm in reiterating US support for Israel, calling the alliance between them unshakeable and deep and enduring.
The president expressed considerable empathy for the Israeli perspective on the conflict.
Israel is surrounded by neighbors that have waged repeated wars against it. Israels citizens have been killed by rockets fired at their houses and suicide bombs on their buses.
Israels children come of age knowing that throughout the region, other children are taught to hate them. Israel, a small country of less than eight million people, looks out at a world where leaders of much larger nations threaten to wipe it off of the map.
The Jewish people carry the burden of centuries of exile and persecution, and fresh memories of knowing that six million people were killed simply because of who they are. Those are facts. They cannot be denied.
Israel, Obama said, deserves a successful state, recognition and normal relations with its neighbors.
And friends of the Palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth, just as friends of Israel must recognize the need to pursue a two-state solution with a secure Israel next to an independent Palestine.
BEFORE moving on to other regions of the world, Obama reiterated that the only valid and realistic road to a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians lies in negotiations.
We will only succeed in that effort if we can encourage the parties to sit down, to listen to each other, and to understand each others hopes and each others fears. That is the project to which America is committed. There are no shortcuts. And that is what the United Nations should be focused on in the weeks and months to come.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking on the same day as Obama, reiterated the American presidents message but went a step or two further, recommending a potential timeline.
Let us cease our endless debates on the parameters and let us begin negotiations and adopt a precise and ambitious timetable, Sarkozy told the UN delegates.
Sixty years without moving one centimeter forward, doesnt that suggest that we should change the method and the scheduling here? Lets have one month to resume discussions, six months to find agreement on borders and security, ?one year to reach a definitive agreement.
As of midweek, however, it appeared that the PA would remain committed to its course, despite such highly-placed advice.
Abbas senior aide Saeb Erekat was quoted by AP on Wednesday as saying that the PA would abide no efforts to delay their expected statehood move on Friday.
We will not allow any political maneuvering on this issue, Erekat said, explaining that Abbas had made it plain in his discussions with all parties involved that the statehood bid would go forward as scheduled.
Meanwhile, some Palestinian officials seemed receptive to Sarkozys suggestions, with one senior Abbas aide, Yasser Abed Rabbi, telling AP that the Palestinian leadership will study seriously the positions and the ideas in that speech.
Copyright © 2011 by the Intermountain Jewish News
