January 16, 2008
AND DE JURE JUST REQUIRES AN INCANTATION:
Self-Vexation (Mamoun Fandy, Ph.D., 1/16/08, Asharq Alawsat)
A geographically-connected Palestinian state, this is the latest occurrence that promises a real breakthrough in what George Bush said in his visit to the Palestinian territories.Bush's visit to the Palestinian Presidency in Ramallah is the US recognition at the highest level of the newly-born Palestinian State. It is a de facto recognition (a recognition of a fait accompli) and not a de jure one (a legal recognition). A cohesive Palestinian State that links Gaza to the West Bank has been one of the Palestinian demands in these thorny negotiations. If Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahmud Abbas himself is optimistic about Bush's visit, are we going to be more Palestinian than him?
Posted by Orrin Judd at January 16, 2008 7:34 AM
The Ph.D. is most certainly correct.
Abbas knows---we all know---that there has simply got to be a better way for all those weapons to get from Gaza to the West Bank.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at January 16, 2008 11:30 AM"Hey, all right! We finally have a contiguous state of our own!"
"Yay!"
"..."
"..."
"...So... you wanna go bomb the Israelis?"
"...Okay."
Posted by: Just John at January 16, 2008 4:57 PMHow is it possible to have a "contiguous" Palestinean state and retain a "contiguous" Israeli one?
Posted by: Lou Gots at January 17, 2008 1:59 AMI wouldn't think that's too much of a problem. We've already redefined "peace," "peace process," and "roadmap," etc. We can certainly redefine "contiguous."
In fact, we can redefine pretty much whatever we want. As Lewis Caroll has so eloquently said....
Posted by: Barry Meislin at January 17, 2008 3:08 AMIsrael shrinks, Palestine grows.
Posted by: oj at January 17, 2008 8:24 AM