I had saved this article because the headline had very much caught my attention. Apparently, in a controversial recent meeting between Netanyahu and the King of Jordan, both leaders mentioned the possibility of building a confederation between the West Bank and Jordan, that would find its origins in the British-dominated protectorate of Transjordan created in 1921, after WWI. That would be one of the main talking points in future peace negotiations and "would leave the core disputes on permanent borders, Jerusalem, the Palestinian refugees and the future of Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria to a later round of negotiations at some unspecified time in the future" (evidently!). This way, Israel won't feel obliged to recognise the existence of a Palestinian state (even though the Palestinian Authority already vowed to recognise the Jewish state) and Hamas won't have to recognise the state of Israel. According to the article, "in early December, the Palestinian Authority’s Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) secretly advised certain Palestinian leaders “to be prepared for a new confederation project with Jordan and other parties in the international community”". A transitory solution that could optimistically facilitate talks, even though, at the end of the day, both parties would have to give in, one way or the other.
Visiting Scholar for the Carnegie Middle East Center´s Sami Moubayed has got it all right. His magnificent article Brahimi won´t risk his reputation in vain highlights the poignant truth about of one of the most serious mistakes the international community (and particularly both the UN and the League of Arab States) has made since the breaking out of the conflict: choosing the wrong mediator. And taking into account the many many (many) things at stake, it really shocks me why nearly nobody stressed that fact earlier. Appointing an special envoy to show unity/consensus and be able to speak to Assad? Great idea. Not bearing in mind what was exactly needed? Failure. Even though he will have to face several setbacks, let´s only hope Brahimi´s appointment somehow clears the path of the Syrian mess... His advantages, as presented by Moubayed: He is "the man who helped end Lebanon’s civil war, who managed Iraq’s troubled post-Saddam elections, and propped up Hamid Karza...

Comments
Post a Comment