Yesterday, the New York Times pointed out that the Arab world is not exploding with rage, and n fact, cited an in-the-record “expert” that Trump’s move may be “transformational.”
In titled Tapes Reveal Egyptian Leaders’ Tacit Acceptance of Jerusalem Move, David D. Kirkparick revealed that the al-Sisi administration is using influential Egyptian talk shows to sway public acceptance of the announcement of the move of the American embassy (and now other counties’ as well) to Jerusalem.
“At the end of the day, later on, Jerusalem won’t be much different from Ramallah. What matters is ending the suffering of the Palestinian people,” Captain Kholi concluded. “Concessions are a must and if we reach a concession whereby Jerusalem will be — Ramallah will be the capital of Palestine, to end the war and so no one else dies, then we would go for it.”
Egypt is far from alone in accepting, and even tacitly supporting, the move:
… a de facto alliance against shared foes such as Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State militants and the Arab Spring uprisings is drawing the Arab leaders into an ever-closer collaboration with their one-time nemesis, Israel — producing especially stark juxtapositions between their posturing in public and private.Mr. Trump’s decision broke with a central premise of 50 years of American-sponsored peace talks, defied decades of Arab demands that East Jerusalem be the capital of a Palestinian state, and stoked fears of a violent backlash the Middle East.
That backlash was not spontaneous, and has been limited to demonstrations organized the weekend after the decision was announced, which amounted to very little by Middle Eastern standards of outrage.
When it wants to offer a conclusion or judgment, the New York Times often finds an “expert” to speak the verdict that a news reporter is not supposed to offer as a personal opinion.
Shibley Telhami, a scholar of the region at the University of Maryland and the Brookings Institution, called the Arab states’ acceptance of the decision “transformational.”
“I don’t think it would have happened a decade ago, because Arab leaders would have made clear they wouldn’t live with it,” he said. Instead, he said, preoccupied by concerns about their own stability, the Arab leaders signaled that — while they may not like the decision — they “will find a way to work with it,” and “with a White House that is prepared to break with what had been taboos in American foreign policy.”
Now that the taboo has been broken and Jerusalem is “off the table” in President Trump’s words, real discussions can proceed on issues where a deal may still be possible. For five decades, since Israel recaptured East Jerusalem repelling an invasion, the so-called “peace process” has accomplished nothing other than gainfully employing squads of diplomats, occupying luxury hotel rooms and squandering megabucks on aid to the Palestinians (much of which has been used to finance terror and fatten the bank accounts of Palestinian “leaders”).
For decades, Middle East despots and warlords were conditioned to shrug off American pressure, knowing full well that the White House didn't have the guts to follow through.
Some might argue that it's not about guts, that presidents like George W. Bush and Barack Obama were being diplomatic by necessity. But then, why apply pressure or issue warnings in the first place, as both former presidents often did? Making threats when everyone knows you have no intention of following through is the opposite of effective.
Well, those days are done under Trump, and the Palestinians just learned that lesson the hard way.
Last Thursday, Trump tweeted that he was questioning the usefulness of massive American financial aid to the Palestinian Authority when it continues to incite against Israel and won't come to the negotiating table.
Just days later, it was revealed that Trump had significantly slashed US contributions to UNRWA, the special UN body set up to cater solely to so-called Palestinian "refugees."
Until now, the US covered a full one-fourth of UNRWA's operating costs.
Three Western diplomats confirmed to Israel's Channel 10 News over the weekend that Trump had frozen $125 million in annual aid to UNRWA, about one-third of the annual US contribution.
The sources added that Trump could increase the cut to $180 million if the Palestinian Authority fails to get the message and rejoin the peace process.
UNRWA has long been criticized for allowing itself to be exploited by radical elements within the Palestinian power structure. In Gaza, the organization's schools are routinely used as cover and storage facilities for Hamas forces, and the textbooks by which it teaches Palestinian children are laced with anti-Israel vitriol.
Successive American presidents have been aware of these problems, but have taken no concrete action for fear of upsetting the Arab "street."
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