Sunday, January 01, 2006

PLAIN TALK: TRUSTEESHIP FOR ‘PALESTINE’

Today’s “news” that anarchy reigns inside the PA areas, combined with a previously embargoed report (see Chronology at LEFT) that a crude Kassam rocket was launched into Israel from northern Samaria, only reinforces the reality that the Palestinian polity is not ready for statehood.

Mahmoud Abbas has ignored repeated calls from Israel to honor his road map commitments and dismantle the infrastructure of terror.

Now it becomes clear that his refusal to do so hasn't just been bad for Israel, but also for the Palestinian Arabs themselves.

Kidnappings, armed gangs, illegal roadblocks, rampant violence, and attacks against PA institutions, are now part of the daily scene.

All this just weeks before scheduled Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Isn’t now the time for the EU and the US to take up an idea first broached by Martin Indyk -- that what is needed is a “trusteeship for Palestine.”

Palestinian society plainly needs a stage between today’s state-of-nature chaos and (presumably) desired statehood.

Such a stage would allow for a level of political socialization necessary before independence could be viable.

But are the EU and the US ready to acknowledge this need?

How would it be implemented?

What would the security implications for Israel be?

Let the discussion begin....

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I am open to running your criticism if it is not ad hominem. I prefer praise, though.