Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas suffers from a charisma deficit, which forces him to invoke the name of his predecessor. In his speech on Friday, he recalled how Yasser Arafat opted to go to the U.N. and extend an olive branch to the Israelis. Somehow, the image best remembered from this historic move is actually that of Arafat's holstered handgun. If there is a single person responsible for the Palestinians' lack of statehood, it would be that very same Arafat. Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was not very fond of the U.N.'s partition plan in 1947 but he understood full well that you have to make do with what is within reach, as he wanted to move on and tend to the state's problems. But unlike Ben-Gurion, Arafat found it more appealing and simpler to travel the world and be treated to nice state dinners. For Arafat, it was too much of a hassle to deal with the sewage system in Hebron or fix the Gaza education system. He instead chose to tout freedom and independence like the great 20th century's romanticists, even once the Oslo Accords had been signed. Blaming past Israeli governments for the long term neglect proved all too easy, and this still holds true for the Palestinian leadership. There is plenty of blame to go around. Israel has also played a role in denying the Palestinians a state of their own. Perhaps had Israel succumbed to pressure the Palestinians would have been granted a state - at Israel's expense. In any event, when the Palestinian request for international recognition comes up for a vote at the U.N. General Assembly this week, the Palestinian delegation should actually look over at their Israeli counterparts: Though they might not be in the "Yea" column, ironically it is Israel, more than any other nation, that has made the world recognize the rights of the Palestinian people. I actually have a soft spot for Abbas. Back in 2006 when I was Israel's ambassador to Mauritania, he arrived for an official visit. Upon descending the plane he walked through the procession line, and shook the hands of the foreign ambassadors, including mine. He even gave me a pat on my shoulder and smiled from ear to ear. This televised gesture provided me with a week of respite from the Palestinian mission's incessant campaign to delegitimize anything that came out my offices. We can do many great things together. No one doubts that. But this must be done through cooperation, consent and mutual understanding. No power grabs. The Oslo Accords are in their last throes, if not dead already, and now the Palestinians are going to deal the last blow to the peace process with their U.N. move. Abbas said on Friday that "no other people besides the Palestinians have been denied membership at the U.N." but we also have the Kurds; even their recognition might arouse the ire of Turkey's Erdogan and Iran's Ahmadinejad.
Like our newsletter? 'Like' our facebook page!
Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox!
