And… that’s supposed to make us feel better? Haven’t they been after a one-state solution all along? “Carter: Palestinians seriously assessing one-state solution,” from Agence France-Presse, September 6 (thanks to Sr Soph):
WASHINGTON – Former US president Jimmy Carter said Sunday Palestinian leaders were “seriously considering” a one-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following a visit to the Middle East.
“A majority of the Palestinian leaders with whom we met are seriously considering acceptance of one state, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,” Carter wrote in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post.
The original piece can be found here. It is much more extensive, and this AFP article effectively summarizes the relevant points about the final er, one-state solution. Anyway, read this next bit sitting down:
“By renouncing the dream of an independent Palestine, they would become fellow citizens with their Jewish neighbors and then demand equal rights within a democracy,” he explained. “In this non-violent civil rights struggle, their examples would be Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.”
Note that Carter never names any names in this story or in the WaPo piece linked above. Why? That would be political suicide for Palestinian politicians — and quite possibly lethal in the literal sense as well. As for the scenario Carter envisions, one need only remember that Hamas maintains its determination to destroy Israel, and even “moderate” Fatah has reaffirmed armed struggle as an option. The putative presence of “democracy” alone does not ensure human rights and civil liberties. Just ask the Iranians. Or Afghan Shi’ite women. Or, stay local and ask the democratically elected Hamas officials.
Meanwhile, there’s the Slow Jihad of demographic conquest:
Carter noted that in doing so, Palestinian leaders were taking into consideration current demographic trends.
He said non-Jews were already a slight majority of total citizens in this area, “and within a few years Arabs will constitute a clear majority.”
Carter added that a two-state solution for the conflict was “clearly preferable” and had been embraced at the grass root level but that a one-state solution was “a more likely alternative to the present debacle.
One can’t help but recall Qadaffi’s “Isratine” manifesto. Or as he called it in a January op-ed, a “one-state solution.” Addled minds think alike, eh?