Not that that will stop Obama, or anyone, from pushing for its creation. “Palestinian Prime Minister Belies Moderate Image With Working Policy Paper About Future Palestinian State,” by David Bedein for Israel Resource Review, September 17 (thanks to Looney Tunes):
Throughout the month of August, 2009, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayad met with more than fifty members of the US Senate and US House of Representatives.
In press conferences held by almost all American elected officials after meeting the American educated Fayad, the consistent impression that they conveyed was that Mr. Fayad represented a “moderate voice of leadership” for a future Palestinian state that could live alongside the state of Israel.
However, a group of Israeli peace groups received and distributed an English version of a position paper for a future Palestinian state that Mr. Fayad submitted at the end of August to the Middle Quartet Negotiations Task Force, which includes The UN, The EU, The American government and the Russian government
Fayad’s paper “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State:Program of the Thirteenth Government – August 2009”
The preface to Fayad’s paper introduces a Palestinian state that will strive for “peace, security and stability in our region on the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
However, Fayad’s 38 page position paper reads like a declaration of war, not of peace.
Fayad asserts that “Jerusalem” will be the Palestinian capital of the Palestinian state – not East Jerusalem.
In case anyone was wondering if Fayad had made a typographical error by not mentioning “east” Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, Fayad repeats – ten times – that he means Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem. Fayad leaves nothing to the imagination, and writes that the Palstininian stat will ” Protect Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Palestinian state”, because Fayad asserts that “Jerusalem is our people’s religious, cultural, economic and political center. It is the Flower of Cities and Capital of Capitals. It cannot be anything but the eternal capital of the future Palestinian state. Jerusalem”…
Fayad declares that the Palestinian State will be an Islamic state and “Promote awareness and understanding of the Islamic religion and culture and disseminate the concept of tolerance in the religion through developing and implementing programs of Shari’a education as derived from the science of the Holy Qur’an and Prophet’s heritage”.
In sum, Fayad concludes with a demand for a Palestinian state in the next two years, along the parameters that he has outlined, with an Palestinian state that will have all of Jerusalem as its capital, in an Islamic Sharia state that will campaign for all convicts to be freed, for all refugees to return to the homes and villages that they left in 1948.
A voice of moderation?
It would be interesting to know if the peace groups that distributed Fayad’s working paper ever bothered to read it.
Indeed.