Wexler: Settlement freeze would call Arab world’s ‘bluff’
Visiting Israel, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) tells Herb Keinon of the Jerusalem Post that Israel should agree to a short-term settlement freeze -- and that it's a smart move to call the Arab states' bluff:
"A request for a moratorium or freeze in settlement activity that can be mutually agreed upon by the US and Israel in the next several weeks is a tiny, tiny gesture and down payment to make when you look at potentially what is on the other side of the equation," said Wexler.
On other side of the equation, he said, were 22 Arab countries being urged by the US to take significant steps now towards normalization with Israel.
"I want to call their bluff," Wexler said. "I want to see, if Israel makes substantial movement toward a credible peace process, whether they are willing to do it. And if they are not, better that we should find out five or six months into the process, before Israel is actually asked to compromise any significant position."
Wexler says he thinks Israel will agree:
Asked what would happen if Israel were to say no to the moratorium request, Wexler said, "I don't think Israel will say no. I don't see an equation where it is in Israel's interest to say no, so I believe Israel will say yes, under a certain set of qualifications that Israel will agree to. This is one hundred percent in Israel's national security interest."
And the Florida congressman, a close ally of Obama and early supporter during the campaign, says the White House's demands on the Arab world have been significant but not getting enough attention (although the administration hasn't talked publicly about the measures Wexler mentioned):
According to Wexler, the Obama administration was making "equal, if not greater, demands on the Arab world in the context of starting the process and negotiations."
Wexler said that the demands on the Arab world - Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and the North African Arab states - were quite substantial in terms of steps of normalization. He said what was being discussed were trade offices, direct economic links, cultural and educational exchanges and over-fly rights for Israeli air carriers.
Moreover, he said the US was "open to suggestions from the Israeli side as to all the different indicators of normalization that would be important for Israel and that would create credibility among the Israeli public."
5 Comments
Share This
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
First, Israel called the Arabs’ bluff by entering into the Oslo Accords. Voila the 2000 Intifada Terror War.
Next, Israel called the Arab bluff by withdrawing from Lebanon. Voila 2006 war with Hezbolla.
Next, Israel called the Arab bluff by vacating Gaza including 8,000 Israeli residents. Voila, Hamas fires 5,000 rocket attacks on Sderot and nearby Israeli communities leading to the Cast Lead war in 2008.
What is wrong with this picture?
If Rep.Wexler doesn’t agree with the following characterization of Obama’s
policy in Ari Shavit’s Haaretz-article, then please give me a better one :
“Seven months after Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election, it is still not clear what the United States’ new strategic goal is: halting Iran’s nuclear program, or learning to live with a nuclear Iran? It is also not clear what the new U.S. vision for the Middle East is: a partial but realistic peace, or a full but fictitious peace? It is not clear whether Obama’s United States plans to isolate Middle Eastern extremists or encourage them. It is not clear what its attitude toward Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran will be. Nor is it clear whether it will leave Iraq victorious or defeated. But, on one issue, there is no doubt. In everything related to Israel, Obama’s United States has adopted a tough-love strategy.”
The settlements are not as big an issue as this Administration is making them to be. What is a big issue is the very public way in which the Obama Administration and its minions are stick ing it to Israel over the settlements - is this the diplomatic style of engaging the world that Obama promised? Against the background of Obama’s widely heralded world-wide apology tour, the Obama Administration’s tone against Israel is blood curding.
Lenin’s nickname for dupable bourgeois comes to mind. King Abdullah (the Saudi one) must be pleased.
The Honorable Congressman was a strong supporter of Bill Clinton - he seems to have forgotten how successful Clinton was in getting Israel to call the Palestinians’ bluff, Israel withdrawing its troops from Judea and Samaria during the Oslo process - in exchange the Palestinians delivered Intifada II which proportionally for Israel was the equivalent of 6+ 911s.
The Honorable Congressman was a strident critic of George W. Bush - maybe he just didn’t notice that Bush was also able to get Israel to call the Palestinians’ bluff - Israel didn’t just freeze settlements, Israel unilaterally pulled out of Gaza, settlements and all - and in exchange, Israel’s citizens have had to endure daily bombing ever since from Hamas, a political party voted into power by the Palestinians.
Leave a Comment
To comment on this article, you must first be registered with JTA.
Not Registered?
There are real advantages to a FREE registration with JTA.org:
- Make your voice heard through comments on articles
- Receive our e-mailed Daily Briefing, an invaluable quick-read
- Help decide what Jewish news matters most with interactive tools
Register Now
Already a JTA member?
Recent Comments
- Bill Pearlman on NJDC:GOP must condemn "Tea Party" signs
- Ben Packer on Tidbits: AJC, J Street on Iranian ship, Hebron and the Mets
- steve ariza on Carter, facts and Jews
- steve ariza on Tidbits: AJC, J Street on Iranian ship, Hebron and the Mets
- Lori Lowenthal Marcus on Tidbits: AJC, J Street on Iranian ship, Hebron and the Mets
Norman Cone
07/02/09 12:07 PM
I’m reading the papers, I’m following the news and what I read and hear is always
about Israeli settlements. If the Obama administration is making “equal if not
greater demands on the Arab world”, it remains a deep secret, because nobody
speaks or writes about it but Rep. Wexler and - with all due respect - he has
lost all credibility in regard of President Obama.