U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's conduct raises several questions. In his visits to the region he pretentiously states that he seeks to resolve the conflict in the Land of Israel, but he seems to ignore the dozens of attempts to that effect by various other envoys, which only complicated things further.
The envoys, much like the Israeli Left, are trying to get the Palestinians to consent to something to which they have no intention of ever agreeing. They will never willingly relent in their demands for any part of Israel.
No Muslim in the world is allowed to cede so much as one grain of sand that has ever been under Islamic rule. This notion stems from profound religious beliefs and it is also why, to this day, you can find schools, businesses and streets across the Palestinian Authority named "Andalus" and "Cordoba," after the Spanish areas ruled by Islam 500 years ago.
The Land of Israel, or "Palestine" as they call it, is considered waqf land, an inalienable religious endowment, land far more sacred than the one in Spain. Former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who signed a peace treaty with Israel and got every last inch of Sinai in return, was assassinated for making a sacrifice significantly smaller than that which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas needs to make.
Kerry's expectation, and that of some leftists, that the Palestinians would ever sign a peace deal in which they would give up even one inch of land is unrealistic and reflects a lack of understanding of the situation.
This is compounded by demographics. Some 700,000 Israeli citizens -- 10 percent of Israel's population -- live beyond the Green Line. They enjoy first-rate education, culture, shopping centers and an excellent quality of life. Of these, 120,000 people live outside the settlement blocs, in places the Left -- and probably Kerry -- see as unstable and removable. That is almost twice the population of the city of Raanana in central Israel.
I personally invite Kerry to visit Samaria, so he can understand what I am talking about.
We must also remember that Kerry is navigating his efforts through a region in crisis: Egypt is on the brink of collapse, and the U.S.' help in deposing President Hosni Mubarak undoubtedly contributed to that. Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are embroiled in a Sunni-Shiite war and Iran is getting closer to having a nuclear weapon that it could use to hijack the Middle East.
The U.S. possesses the ability to neutralize that threat in several hours of bombings, but will be unable to do so once Iran becomes a nuclear power.
Kerry is neglecting the real issues and further discrediting the U.S. That is why for now -- unless he somehow proves he is able to get the parties back to the negotiating table -- he is struggling through the Middle East quagmire.
Gershon Mesika is head of the Samaria Regional Council.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו