Juan Cole: Top Ten Steps That Are Necessary for Lasting Gaza-Israel Peace

[Bonobo]

1. The slant of the article was quite obvious when I read this. #8.

8. Israel must cease demanding that people recognize it before negotiations begin. There is something pitiful about being that insecure, or too clever by half in being that Machiavellian. For Palestinians, some forms of ‘recognition' involve giving up basic claims and rights that they believe should be part of the negotiations. The Israelis are trying to set things up so that the Palestinians have to give away most of what they want to negotiate about before they even get to the table. The PLO recognized Israel as part of the Oslo accords. It was rewarded by being marginalized, emasculated and betrayed. Why should any other Palestinian political force wish to be taken for a ride that way? As for Israeli complaints that Hamas wants to destroy them, that is ridiculous. It is not ridiculous that Hamas might have such aspirations in the long term, it is ridiculous that a tiny poverty-stricken and militarily virtually non-existent entity like Hamas should be taken seriously as a military threat to nuclear-armed Israel.

Common sense will tell you that you cannot negotiate with someone that doesn't recognize you as a legitimate state that exists and has a right to exist. Does anyone honestly believe that negotiations could begin with good faith with a partner that doesn't recognize you? And this author turns that around and says it is "pitiful", "insecure". This author is disguising propaganda as serious talk in this ridiculously slanted piece.