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Cal thomas interviews condoleeza rice

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in an interview with Cal Thomas expresses her belief that peace is possible between Israel and Palestinians because she doesn't believe that there is any society that isn't based on a desire to better the situation for themselves and their children. In this case most Palestinians know that they are well served by a state alongside Israel.

Jewish Current Issues points out to a poll that contradicts Dr. Rice's assertion.

Well let’s look at the most recent poll in the Palestinian territories, conducted last month by the Jerusalem Media & Communication Centre -- an organization established by Palestinian journalists and researchers with offices in East Jerusalem and Ramallah. The JMCC states that it provides services to “journalists, researchers, international agencies, individuals and organizations interested in obtaining reliable information on the Palestinian territory”:

Q. 1 Some believe that a two state formula is the favored solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict, while others believe that historic Palestine can't be divided and thus the favored solution is a bi-national state on all of Palestine where Palestinians and Israeli enjoy equal representation and rights, which of these solutions do you prefer?

Here are the numbers for the answers in the poll:

A. Two-state solution: 46.6%.
B. Total for “Bi-national state on all of historic Palestine,” “one Palestinian State,” “Islamic State,” and “No solution”: 50.9%.
C. Total for “Don’t Know” or “No answer” or “Other”: 2.1%.

Somebody needs to let Condi know that, based on the most recent poll, a majority of Palestinians prefer a one-state solution (or no solution), not a two-state one.
Apparently the CIA doesn't know or hasn’t briefed her, so it falls to a conservative Jewish blog.

The Augean Stables recommends some reading for Dr. Rice to disabuse her of her pollyannish notions.

No, Rice needs to wake up and smell the sulphuric hatreds emanating from the allegedly robust “civil society.” She needs to spend some time visiting Palestinian Media Watch and MEMRI. And so do most other Americans, right, left, center, and been-down-so-long-it’s-beginning-to-look-like-up.

Atlas Shrugs thinks that Gen Yaalon provides a good antidote for this way of thinking.

While Kesher Talk presents a sensible approach to the Middle East that, alas, is probably not considered "realist" enough to suit Dr. Rice.

Therefore the solution is the opposite of what Condi proposes. The Palestinians must not be given any rewards for choosing jihadism. They must not be given even more money for their corrupt murderous leaders to buy arms with and sock away in Swiss bank accounts. The Palestinian state must not be allowed to happen unless it is unambiguously on record in Arabic and Hebrew and English that it will co-exist with Israel, and unambiguously repudiate terrorism and the groups which promote and conduct it. As long as the "70% of Palestinians who just want a normal life" continue to vote for and support the terrorists, they are complicit, and what they "really" want is moot. If they are truly 70%, they should have been able to make it happen by now. If they didn't, simply pronouncing a "state" is not going to empower them.

Actually, to read Dr. Rice's final response, it would be easy to conclude that she really doesn't differ that much from Kesher Talk

SECRETARY RICE: Yeah, they do have plenty of recruits. But the ideology, that kind of ideology of hatred and hopelessness does not have a chance against an ideology of hope and a better future. We just have to realize that because of the way that the politics of the Middle East has developed for the last 60 years, that ideology of hope and a better future has not been there.

The problem is that the Palestinian vision of a better world does not include Israel. And the failure of the West to insist on change is what encourages them to persist in that belief.

Technorati tags: Condoleeza Rice, Cal Thomas.