Intransigence

It comes as no surprise that the Left-leaning MSM gave almost no play to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments at the outset of this year’s edition of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. In comments at the White House, Netanyahu clearly stated that these talks were not intended to achieve

A brief interlude between two wars … a temporary respite between outbursts of terror. We [Israel] seek a peace that will end the conflict between us once and for all. We seek a peace that will last for generations.

But Bibi is also a realist. He further stated:

We left Lebanon, we got terror. We left Gaza, we got terror. We want to ensure that territory we concede will not be turned into a third Iranian sponsored terror enclave aimed at the heart of Israel. That is why a defensible peace requires security arrangements that can withstand the test of time and the many challenges that are sure to confront us.

Of course, these conciliatory and at the same time pragmatic words conflict with the Left’s continuing narrative that Israeli actions are the primary impediment to “peace.”

At the kickoff to the talks, President Obama stated:

"The goal is a settlement negotiated between the parties that ends the occupation, which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with a Jewish state of Israel and its other neighbors.

So, let’s see if I have this straight. Israel is attacked by Arab armies in 1967. They repulse the attack and win convincingly, annexing Arab territories won in battle. They unilaterally give back the Sinai and other territories, keeping only small swaths of largely uninhabited land for security. Barack Obama calls that an “occupation?” I wonder if our president would characterize Texas as occupied Mexican territory?

President Obama further noted that both sides have taken “important steps” to build confidence. I have to wonder how that jibes with the Hamas terror attack that killed four Israeli civilians (included a pregnant woman on the eve of the talks.

It's worth noting that negotiations of this type are not new. They have been tried in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007. In every instance Israel has been asked to make tangible concessions for peace. In every instance, Palestinian leadership has found a reason to walk away. It’s a near certainty that history will repeat itself. It’s also certain that the Left will blame Israeli intransigence.