Jordan's King Abdullah is at it again repeating the mantra of the Arab League of which Jordan is a foundation member:
"The principal problem in the region is the Palestinian issue and, if it is not solved, it will be impossible to solve other problems." [Jerusalem Post 2 March 2007]
Palestine comprised an area of about 120000 square kilometres, which has now been divided into two sovereign States - Israel (22000 square kilometres) and Jordan (92000 square kilometres) - plus an area of 6000 square kilometres called the West Bank and Gaza in which statehood still remains undeclared.
The Arab League has called for full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the West Bank and Israel's acceptance of an independent Arab State there with East Jerusalem as its capitol.
This means
(i) the expulsion of some 400000 Jews presently living in the West Bank who have lived there for all or part of the last 40 years.
(ii) the perpetual abandonment by Jews of all claims to reconstitute their national home in the West Bank and Gaza as conferred on them by the League of Nations and confirmed by the United Nations.
(iii) The severance of the Jews from their biblical heartland where they lived as an independent nation long before any Arabs came to the area as foreign conquerors and occupiers seven centuries after the birth of Jesus.
The Arab League has shown no indication of any readiness to abandon this "all or nothing approach" by agreeing to the Jews retaining and living in a portion of this disputed territory whilst the remainder and its Arab residents becomes part of Jordan as it was between 1948 and 1967.
A second Arab State in Palestine, which has been propounded for the last 20 years, is as ridiculous as suggesting a second Jewish State in Palestine.
Two peoples - the Jews and the Arabs - need two States in former Palestine not three.
Whilst the Arab League persists with this intransigent attitude there is indeed a problem, but one solely of the Arab League's choosing.
The Arab League presently is made up of 22 member States covering almost 14 million square kilometres in which almost 320 million Arabs reside.
It is incredulous and completely false to continually advocate that a dispute over 6000 square kilometres housing 3 million Arabs must first be settled before all the other problems in the region can be resolved.
Yet this is precisely what the Arab League has sold to the Quartet - America, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union. - and they have swallowed it hook line and sinker
Besotted by this tale that could have come from the Arabian Nights, the Quartet has thrown billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of hours in aid and diplomatic manoeuvring in trying to solve this problem. They have not got the disputants to even move off the starting blocks.
Meanwhile the Arab League has allowed far more serious bushfires to rage out of control in some of its' own member States, that threaten to eventually consume the Arab League itself.
In fact some League members such as Syria are actively helping to fan the fires by providing arms, money and safe transit for terrorists to bring down the Governments of other member States where life is anything but pleasant.
The League's biggest problem involves a non Arab state - Iran - as it seeks leadership of the Islamic world through the supremacy of Shia Islam as the dominant Islamic religion over Sunni Islam , the religion of the majority of the Arabs.
This is the clash of ideologies that must first take place before militant Islam can hope to achieve its aim of making Islam the world's dominant religion.
Islam can only have one leader not two to achieve this objective. Will that leader be Shia or Sunni?
The Arab League's failure to prevent Iran interfering in the affairs of Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Iraq has given Iran and the Shiites easy entrée into the Arab World and put the Arab League's very future existence under serious threat.
The white ants are on the march and the Arab edifice is in danger of total collapse.
Perhaps it is time for the Quartet to tell the Arab League to start solving the problems affecting their own member States such as Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria, Somalia and Sudan where the lives of 100 million people are at risk every day and where the sight of Moslem blowing up Moslem and mosque after mosque being bombed is unbelievable
The Quartet should also put the Palestinian question on the backburner and focus their attention, effort and political clout (if any is left) on the real and pressing issues outlined above.
Creating another Arab State on 6000 square kilometres of land when you already have 22 Arab States on 14 million square kilometres of land reminds me of the glutton who was given 99.5% of the apple pie but still was not satisfied and demanded the rest.
He ended up with severe indigestion.
[The writer acknowledges Wikipedia as the source for the statistics appearing in this article]
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Russia giving weapons to Syria?
By: JasonRogers | 22-08-2008
Why is Russia supplying Syria with weapons and rockets? I really just don't understand whose side in the world Russia is on? Do they want to support world terrorism? Do they want to destroy all of Israel? Do they just want power and they think a strong Syria will somehow help them?
What would happen if Russia and the all the non ...
By: Knight | 22-08-2008
What would happen if Russia and the all the non-western people became allies and started war?
Israel major powers from 1250 BC to 587 BC
By: Pamela | 22-08-2008
Hi, I need your help! My question is ... what were the major powers in Afro-Asia during the period of Israel's existence as a nation (that is, from about 1250 BC to about 587 BC)? Where were they located in relationship to Israel? During what periods were each of these powers active?
Is it fair for saudi arabia to trade with israel ...
By: sohail24435619 | 22-08-2008
Is it fair for saudi arabia to trade with israel while israel is still killing hundreds of innocent palestinians ?
Who were the other five Olympic medalists in ...
By: friend | 21-08-2008
Who were the other five Olympic medalists in Israeli history?
For Gen. Clark: How concerned are you about the ...
By: Barbara Slavin | 21-08-2008
for Gen. Clark:
How concerned are you about the legal status of a security pact between Iraq and the United States if it is not approved by either the Iraqi parliament or the U.S. Congress? Are you as optimistic as the Bush administration is that the surge has worked?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Politics Articles
Can a Coming Energy Crisis Top the Wall Street Disaster?
By: Klaus H Hemsath | 11/10/2008
The recent Wall Street disaster reminds us that citizens cannot trust industry. Greed has invaded the most profitable companies to an unacceptable and destructive degree. US citizens must consider the banking crisis as a wake up call for preventing the oil and energy industries from creating an even more destructive energy catastrophe. We must outlaw fossil fuels and begin to produce renewable fuels for keeping the US secure.
Hatred & Racial Fires
By: Ernie Fitzpatrick | 11/10/2008
The wheels are seemingly coming off the McCain campaign as it rolls into the last three weeks of the presidential push and it's getting more than ugly.
Palin Abuses Power
By: Ernie Fitzpatrick | 11/10/2008
Hey, she's a nice lady from alaska. Doesn't that exempt her from anything evil or wrong> Duh!
Youth and Vigour Will Make Us Bigger
By: melvin polatnick | 11/10/2008
A fresh new personality will take the reigns of the most powerful nation on Earth.
American Anti-terrorist Campaigns 1908 - 2008
By: Bernard J Fleury | 10/10/2008
American Anti-Terrorist Campaigns are a century old from Faustino Ablen and the Pulahanes to Osma Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, basically similar and somewhat different.
The Fall of George W. Bush
By: Ernie Fitzpatrick | 10/10/2008
How fast and yet how slow eight years can be when you are president of the United States. The first four were fast, the last four seemingly will never end.
Extremism Has Hijacked "fair and Balanced." How Do Get it Back?
By: Carol Forsloff | 09/10/2008
Where's the middle anymore when extreme right and left dominate the culture? How do we get it back? That's tough when times are hard, but we can do it with the right methods. Here are some ideas.
It's not the Surge
By: Mike Mittelman | 09/10/2008
There is a belief that we are winning "The War on Terrorism" and that our success is due to recent troop surges in Iraq. The entire invasion and occupation of Iraq has been one continuing troop surge that caused no change or slow down in Terrorist activity. It's not the Surge that's responsible for the slowdown in Terrorist activity.
More from david singer
Palin Parachutes Into Palestine - Biden Bides His Time
By: david singer | 04/10/2008 | Politics
Adroit performances by Gov.Palin and Sen. Biden during their Vice Presidential debate have ensured that neither Sen. Obama nor Sen. McCain will be forced to answer any questions during the remainder of their Presidential campaigns regarding the future of the West Bank and Gaza following the inevitable collapse of President Bush's Roadmap.
Palestine Exits Center Stage - Enter Jordan
By: david singer | 28/09/2008 | Politics
The failure of both John McCain and Barack Obama to discuss or even mention President Bush's Roadmap during their first Presidential debate is the last nail in the coffin for that vision to be translated into reality.
Paulson's Prognosis Pinpoints Palestine's Panacea
By: david singer | 21/09/2008 | Politics
Avoiding a possible nuclear meltdown will involve the United Nations Security Council taking urgent action to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in line with the prognosis laid down by US Treasury Secretary Henry Poulson to end the world's threatened financial meltdown.
Palestine - Buy Up or Sell Out?
By: david singer | 17/09/2008 | Politics
The collapse of President Bush's Roadmap presents Israel with an opportunity to buy up the West Bank rather than selling out its heritage as the biblical homeland of the Jewish People.
Jordan Prepares to Prevent West Bank Collapse
By: david singer | 08/09/2008 | Politics
The failure of President Bush's Roadmap means the West Bank will be lost to the Arabs unless Jordan enters into negotiations with Israel to divide sovereignty of that territory between them.
Palestine - One Big Yawn Amid Yawning Chasms
By: david singer | 01/09/2008 | Politics
The visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East last week confirmed that negotiations on President Bush's Roadmap were heading nowhere.
Palestine - Death Throes or Rigor Mortis?
By: david singer | 23/08/2008 | Politics
Israel's Foreign Minister has made it very clear that no new Arab State will be created between Israel, Jordan and Egypt unless the Arabs renounce the right for millions of former Arab residents and their descendants to be allowed to return to live in Israel.
Palestinian Authority Catches Olympic Games Fever
By: david singer | 18/08/2008 | Politics
The rejection by the Palestinian Authority of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposal to cede 93.5% of the West Bank and Gaza Strip plus a slice of Israel equal in area to another 5.5% of the disputed territories matches the air of unreality present at the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games.
News and Society 
