Palestinians Should Challenge Hamas not Israel
Ron Prosor, Israeli ambassador in London | August 28, 2008
It is the Hamas’s illegitimate rule that prevents progress between Israel and the Palestinians, not Israel itself. ++ However, Palestinian protesters stick to the anti-Israel dogma and do not question the extremists’ destructiveness even though they need to ask Israel more and more often for help. ++ Therefore, “it is time to realize that bashing Israel will not build Palestine.” ++ Furthermore, the international community should encourage Palestinians to establish infrastructure and governing institutions in order to contain the Iranian influence.
It was Saakashvili’s behavior that forced Russia to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. ++ Relations of different nations living in one state have to be handled with great sensitivity. ++ Russia respects its minorities and fosters harmonious coexistence between them; the president of Georgia proved himself unable to do the same and stripped his country’s regions of the autonomy they were promised. ++ The West is also guilty as it ignored the delicacy of the situation, feeding these regions’ hopes for freedom.
The agenda for cooperation with Russia looks doubtful but safe havens for cooperation still exist. ++ For instance, the entire civil and military nuclear agenda opens room for diplomacy. ++ However, no single European institution is perfectly suited to working on security arrangements. ++ At this highly charged moment, the best choice may be to turn to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. ++ Another idea is the creation of a short-term bilateral presidential commission which would be risky but could potentially have a big payoff.
The crucial question at the upcoming European head of state meeting is about the right of self-determination in the context of the Caucasus crises. ++ EU foreign policy towards Kosovo indicates that it is an advocate of self-determination; however, there may be some who emphasize the inviolability of borders, thereby giving a hazardous guarantee to the Georgian government. ++ The tiny difference between inviolability and unalterability of borders offers the critical elbowroom for the EU foreign policy.
Current “cap and trade” approach to the fight with global warming will not effectively solve the problem. ++ At its core, climate change is not a problem of technology or policy – the problem lies in our frame of mind. ++ We won’t save our planet unless we overcome system blindness and embrace “sustainable thinking,” characterized by 4 steps: “discover, dream, design, and act” ++ A growing number of individuals and companies, e.g. Xerox and DuPont, have adopted such sustainable thinking and produced impressive results.
