The European Union, in its ridiculous presumptive wisdom, is now demanding that a peace plan be imposed on Israel. Germany, France, and Britain (speaking for the EU) want Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon to come up with a peace plan by the time of the next Quartet meeting–3 weeks from now. Never mind that the entire Arab world is going up in smoke as the bombings continue in Libya and protesters are being slaughtered in Syria and Jordan. Never mind that the Palestinians are firing rockets from Gaza on an almost hourly basis at the citizens of southern Israel. Never mind any of this–let’s focus on getting Israel back to the negotiating table so that more concessions can be made to the Palestinians.
This move is in lockstep with a speech given yesterday by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki who warned that Mahmoud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen, will resign if negotiations with Israel do not resume by September: “Abu-Mazen is the most moderate leader and it’ll be a shame if we miss this opportunity. . . If we don’t reach an agreement by September, Abu-Mazen will resign. If that happens, we’ll lose all hope for peace.” The fact is that Mahmoud Abbas has become a pathetic joke: he won’t come to the table unless Israel does this and Israel does that (this morning he is demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners before he will sit down and negotiate). A pathetic joke to all except the European Union.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.