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Seeking a Quick Exit in Gaza
The Palestinian Authority is the legitimate partner of Israel in a negotiated solution. Israel must immediately engage the Palestinian Authority in its capacity as the responsible and legitimate representative of the Palestinians on two levels: delivering on negotiations and co-manning the border crossings.
International and regional leaders must immediately give the highest priority to pushing both Israel and the PA to conclude their lengthy negotiations, regardless of where Hamas ends up.
Should Hamas reverse itself and agree to sign off on a negotiated settlement, so be it. But it is the business of the Palestinian Authority to conduct and conclude the negotiations, not the business of Hamas.
Israeli strikes on Gaza could succeed in closing off the underground tunnels and choking off the population along with the Hamas fighters by further closures of crossing points. This collective punishment will backfire.
Some Israeli leaders believe that a two-state solution will not take care of the demographic problem within Israel, so they reject it. They want Jordan to be the substitute Palestinian state and the Palestinian citizens of Israel pushed out into that state—whatever it takes.
The only thing that will stop this madness from coming about is for the United States to say: absolutely not. The time for this “No” has never been more acutely needed than now. A recommitment to Jordan’s security and statehood by Obama is most necessary, as well as a restatement of a serious American commitment to the two-state solution.
Also, there is a need for a clear message from Obama to all concerned—Iran and others—that instability in Egypt is unacceptable. This is not about liking or disliking the ruling regime in Egypt but rather about what instability in Egypt would produce. Washington should pressure the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, but it should simultaneously draw red lines.
Iran needs to hear a clear message from the incoming administration that the new president will listen to and engage the Islamic Republic of Iran, but if it stops its interference and menace in Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt. A message should be delivered to the mullahs and ruling revolutionaries in Tehran that there are now conditions to engaging Iran.
John Talks Joe
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
This is the silliest and longest opinion piece I've ever read. In fact, this is a collection of opinions, that go all over the place, some contradicting each other, offering nothing useful to the reader. What makes the writer think she can tell everybody what they should or should not do? Or does she think every country and leader should abandon their national interests to satisfy her wishful thinking? I'm sorry, but this op-ed is simply stupid, unbefitting the great DB.
Thank you.
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