Now would be a great time for Israel to declare peace with the Palestinians. And a good enough time as any for Palestinians to declare statehood.

So I’ll do my part: “Peace with the Palestinians.” This does not change anything. As if extending a settlement freeze by two-months would ensure peace in the region. What would Fatah do with two-months? How about ten months? Time enough to plant more olive trees? Print more flags? Jews started construction on 600 new homes in the West Bank since the moratorium was jettisoned last month (with the help of Palestinian workers, ignoring the PA’s boycott). That is Jewish integrity.

Nevertheless, PA PM Salam Fayyad is headstrong. He sees Jewish integrity and it sparks a flame on his tongue; his game of semantics is putting words in the world’s mouth. He said:

“The deadline is next summer, when the Israeli occupation of the West Bank must end…In 2011, we will celebrate 66 years of the United Nations and the United Nations will celebrate the birth of our nation.”

He said that Palestinians

“need to build national institutions in the West Bank and prepare for an independent Palestinian state…The people of Gaza must be involved in our national project…There are gaps between us, it’s true, but the real gap is the wall that closes off the Strip. Next week, I will try to enter Gaza.”

He may enter Gaza; it will not protect Palestinians under Fatah from Hamas. It would not stop the flow of Iranian military-grade armaments from Nigeria to Hamas in Gaza. Or any similar activity.
Fayyad said that he will give Israel “one more year of grace…but these colonies can no longer be there. They are illegal everywhere; here and Jerusalem…If it is true that Israel is interested in peace, it must block the settlers.”

If it is true that the Palestinians want peace they will make more of an effort to condemn Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. They will see Jewish integrity and it will inspire them. Thomas Friedman recently said on an interview with Channel 2 in Israel something like: Netanyahu expects the PA to learn the words to “HaTikvah” in perfect Yiddish. Well, Mr. Friedman, what would be wrong with that?

Someone said recently that Israel views UN advice, such as extending the moratorium as mere recommendations. Are they, in actuality, anything but mere recommendations? And ones which show a lack of understanding and empathy for Zionism at that!

The best thing Israel can do for the Palestinians, at this point, is to set an example by its ingenuity and integrity. When the Palestinians learn these positive traits, they will see progress towards real statehood. Until then, Fayyad is a crybaby.

See you in 2011…