Sunday, July 1, 2007

How About a Terrorism Freeze?

According to the July 1 New York Times editorial Let Blair Be Blair, the Palestinian Arabs "desperately need economic development and better institutions. But these goals cannot be realistically separated from the larger challenge of restoring their belief in a livable future in a viable Palestinian state."

It has always been up to the Palestinian Arabs to decide whether they are interested in their own state (in addition to the existing Palestinian states of Israel and Jordan); thus far they have been far more interested in destroying and killing than creating or living.

Outsiders may have a positive role in impressing upon the Palestinian Arabs the self-destructive nature of their past and present courses, but The Times doesn't have that in mind. Rather, it has in mind pressuring Israel to make even more counterproductive concessions.

The only specific step The Times calls on anyone to take is for Israel to institute "a full settlement freeze," as if having a handful of Jews living in the disputed territories would be a problem if the Palestinian Arabs had a sincere interest in peace.

If there are to be any settlement freezes, they should be implemented in an even-handed fashion, with any settlement freezes by Israel matched by settlement freezes by the Palestinian Arabs.

To even suggest that demonstrates how absurd and bigoted the entire idea of a settlement freeze is.

If there are to be any freezes, they should consist of freezing the arming of terrorists and freezing terrorist activity.

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