From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Palestinian envoy urges Obama to push peace
Afif Safieh, roving Palestinian ambassador for special missions, writes an open letter to President Obama, urging him to push a peace deal on Israel.
He writes: “Mr President, I suspect you would be surprised by the massive support you would receive, domestically and internationally, if you were to link US aid to Israel with US advice. In short: if you were to reconcile American power and American principles. Responding to the Palestinian cry for freedom out of captivity and bondage is crucial for US credibility, respectability and – I dare say – lovability.
“With a single telephone call in 1956, President Eisenhower had David Ben Gurion withdraw from the occupied Sinai – and during a Presidential election year. Compared to Ben Gurion, Netanyahu looks like a lamb.
“We still have two more years. If the international will was to have primacy over the Israeli national whim, a territory that was occupied in 1967 in six days can also be evacuated in six days, so that the Israelis can rest on the seventh, and we can finally engage on the fascinating journey of state-building and economic recovery.
“Can we really witness another Eisenhower moment? Yes, Mr President, I believe we can.”
The Times of Israel Community.