Blair refuses to back Olmert's West Bank plan
Blair has, at long last, done something with which I can agree.
He has refused to back Olmert's plan to unilaterally state Israel's borders and has insisted that the Israelis must negotiate with the Palestinians.
Olmert insists his pan is "generous" as it allows the Palestinians to keep 90% of the West Bank. He omits to mention that the settlements that he is trying to retain for Israel are illegal under international law and that the passage of time will not change their illegality.
Meanwhile, anyone who cares for democracy must be disheartened with what is taking place in the Occupied Territories.
Fatah have reportedly attacked and set fire to the government buildings of Hamas, the democratically elected Palestinian leadership.
No doubt Israel and the US will favour any attempt to destabilise Hamas, which makes a mockery of their supposed love for democracy.
I am also highly suspicious of the timing of the rocket attack by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip which killed seven Palestinians, three of them children, and ended Hamas' fifteen month ceasefire with the Israelis.
Abbas was going to the Palestinian's with a referendum stating that the Palestinians would recognise Israel and agree to a two state solution. I always thought that this released Hamas from a box of their own making and that they could now claim to be "following the will of the people" rather than backing down from their long held refusal to recognise the Israeli state.
Olmert has done everything in his power resist any attempts Abbas made to reach a negotiated settlement.
The Israeli rocket attack has made Hamas' acceptance of Abbas' compromise impossible.
Is it feasible that this rocket attack was an accident? If it was, then the Israelis have great fortune that such "accidents" should happen at times most politically expedient to themselves.
Blair has done well to withdraw British support for this plan.
A war that has raged for fifty years cannot be ended by the most powerful of the two forces simply drawing a line in the sand. The solution must be negotiated and, with Hamas in power, Israel have a rare chance to negotiate with the organ grinder rather than the monkey.
Whilst maintaining his position of faux morality by stating that Israel will not negotiate with terrorists, Olmert is omitting the role that terrorism played in the formation of the Israeli state. Were it not for the actions of Haganah, the Irgun and the Stern Gang, the state of Israel might never have existed.
Olmert should cut the crap, stop attempting a land grab, and negotiate with Hamas before the greatest chance at peace in the Middle East for fifty years is squandered away.
Israel's settlements are illegal. But she could still possibly keep them if she was prepared to offer a commensurate portion of Israeli land in compensation. What she can't do is have it all.
By pointing this out, Blair is being a true friend to the Israelis.
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