King Abdullah of Jordan just hosted a round of meetings that include President George Bush, in an attempt to avert what he sees as “a tremendous crisis” in the Middle East. According to the monarch, the region is facing multiple opportunities for civil war…Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories. The king is pushing for a determination in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Once again, Israel is being forced to accept HAMAS, a democratically-elected terrorist organization, as a peace partner. Prime Minister Olmert gave a speech at the grave of David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, when in 1948 Israel was reborn after one thousand years. Jews in Israel are in shock over the contents of the speech. They are mourning what they see as the burial of Israel’s resolve, and the triumph of HAMAS.
It now appears that Israel will be pressed to release terrorist prisoners and to give up more land for peace. Israelis are asking, “Why, why, why?” So many have endured so much, the Holocaust, repeated terror attacks by proxies funded and armed by Iran and Syria; why are they again being asked to pay the appeasement price for Arab rage in Iraq?
Although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declined to attend the meeting in Jordan, he does plan to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas soon. In a series of ongoing meetings, King Abdullah will also meet with Abbas for an update on activities in the PA. Rumors have been rampant that both Olmert and Abbas would join in the Jordan talks, but according to sources both in Israel and the U.S., there are no plans for such a meeting.
Unfortunately, there is a real possibility that Israel could become a bartering chip in efforts to resolve the Iraq crisis. Even now, Israel is being pressured to give up land and release prisoners to appease Arab rage.
Click here to sign the petition today to President Bush. Ask him not to allow Israel to become a bargaining point for peace in Iraq.
This is outrageous! Iraq is a mess, and Israel is once again being pressured to make concessions, and assume the blame for the quagmire in Iraq.
Israel is expected to release terrorists from their prisons while the three kidnapped soldiers have never been returned. Israel is expected to concede land while Hezbollah in Lebanon has not disarmed. They are, instead, attempting to overthrow the government in Lebanon. HAMAS, on the other hand, has reiterated that the Palestinians will never give up their “right of return,” and their claim to lands now occupied by the Israelis, which would ultimately result in Israel again giving up “land-for-appeasement.”
President Bush and King Abdullah has met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan. They have l discuss the worsening situation in Iraq. Maliki’s advisors are demanding that he forego meeting with Abdullah and President Bush. Secretary of State Rice will also be in Jordan for a meeting of G-8 and Arab ministers.
According to diplomatic sources, the talks in Jordan will center wholly around Iraq and the burgeoning violence and rapid escalation into all-out civil war. One official stated that for both Bush and Rice, “There would have to be something extremely dramatic for Washington to change its focus from Iraq.”