But there is no sign the Obama administration wishes to take note. Indeed, the U.S. pressured Israel in the past year into agreeing to free 104 convicted blood-soaked terrorists just to get the PA to the table. It brought no real talks, no Palestinian reform or concessions – only a Fatah/Hamas regime.
The conclusion is clear: Israeli concessions that are divorced from a genuine process of give and take cause harm: they bolster a Palestinian entitlement mentality that militates not only against moderation but in favor of hardening positions.
Internationally, unilateral Israeli concessions enable the misapprehension that Palestinians have done all they need do, and that the ball is therefore in Israel’s court. The only confidence they can inspire is the certainty that more Israelis will be murdered.
Indeed, merely to talk of the need for Israeli confidence-building measures serves to keep the real issues of Palestinian rejection, terrorism, and incitement off the agenda. And where Israeli concessions do not occur, or are rejected, the conclusion is that the Israelis, rather than the Palestinians, are unwilling to do what is necessary to make peace.
This is a dangerous and tragic farce in which Israel should refuse further participation.