‘Israel has no peace partner’

ARAB-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh has warned that peace is a pipedream until the Palestinians elect a leader that Israel can deal with.

The Jerusalem Post contributor, who addressed audiences in both Victoria and New South Wales, told a gathering of more than 300 people at Sydney’s Central Synagogue that neither Fatah nor Hamas are worth inviting to the negotiating table.

“If anyone thinks that Hamas is going to change, as someone who has covered the situation for so long, I can tell you that Hamas is not going to change,” he said.
“But give Hamas credit for being very honest. Their stance is that they do not want a Jewish state and [this] has never changed.”

Abu Toameh also said that while Fatah might be more inclined to sign a peace deal, it would be worthless.

“If the Israeli Prime Minister and [PA President] Mahmoud Abbas met in Jerusalem tomorrow to sign a peace deal it would be very nice. I would even stand outside and demonstrate in favour of it, but what is the Palestinian President going to do because he can’t go to Gaza?

“Hamas kicked him out of Gaza, so he lost control of half of the Palestinian people and if he goes to Gaza, then Hamas will publicly
hang him.”

He continued that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is in a good situation.

“If I were him, I would invite [US President Barack] Obama to Israel and I would establish a Palestinian state. Then I would ask Obama who I should give the state to?

“What is he going to say? Hamas? Fatah? Al-Qaeda? The Arab Liberation Front? Islamic Jihad?

“The reality is there is no-one to give it to,” he concluded.

Abu Toameh — whose trip to Australia has been sponsored by the United Israel Appeal, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies — said the two sides are headed for a collision course because Obama is making them talk about matters they cannot yet resolve.

“There are very big core issues and the gap is too wide, so it is impossible in the near future to discuss it without just raising tensions when the talks fail.”

JOSHUA LEVI

PHOTO: Arab-Israeli journalist Khaled Abu Toameh