Delusion

Nabil Sha'ath, the current chief of international relations for Fatah, penned a piece in Haaretz today. I was actually interested in seeing what he had to say but I stopped reading after the opening paragraph:

Let us be clear: Palestinians long ago recognized Israel and its right to exist in peace and security. Twenty-two years ago, to be precise. The peace process that began 17 years ago has repeatedly reaffirmed Palestinian recognition of Israel and its right to exist over 78 percent of our historic homeland.

I didn't realize Hamas, the 'winner' of the first Gaza elections and a prominent player in Palestinian politics, recognized Israel. Care to remind me why their charter still talks about the destruction of Israel? Shouldn't that have been removed if we were 'recognized'? And though Mr. Sha'ath claims that this happened 21 years ago, how come the PA (who Sha'ath represents) openly promotes teaching that cities like Haifa, Akko and Yaffo are 'Palestinian cities'? Shouldn't those be 'Israeli' if you want to recognize us? There are many examples like these two but the point is obvious.

I think the Palestinians, and Israelis, need to be a tad bit more honest with each other. Neither side really recognizes the other - and won't do until a deal is ironed out. Now that deal may change this reality, it may not. Until then though, what's the point of these 'games' (to quote Sha'ath)?

Lastly, I always thought 'historic Palestine' included Jordan ... I guess that part of the dream is officially over.
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