Foreign leaders must not support the PA in its bid to unilaterally establish a state in Judea and Samaria, a group of bereaved parents said Friday. The parents, members of the “Three Fathers” group, have written to 40 foreign ambassadors and warned them against PA efforts to get the United Nations on its side.
“You and your country are being approached to approve and declare your support of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state,” the group wrote. “We, the Three Fathers, are concerned that such a step on your country's behalf and from the Palestinians is going to throw the country and the region into yet another wave of clashes and terror attacks, retaliations and re-retaliations that will cause both sides great harm.”
The writers stated that they support negotiations, and are working for “a secure future” for all residents of the region - “Palestinians and Israelis, Christians and Muslims as Jews.”
However, they continued, a unilateral declaration of statehood would not accomplish that. “Unilateral negotiations prove you don't want to negotiate... Unilateral action proves you want to force the other side to do something he doesn't want to do.”
Israel's famous unilateral action, the 2005 Disengagement, clearly backfired, they said. “The Disengagement brought years of rockets to the Israeli side and 'Cast Lead' to the Palestinian side.”
They also noted that the so-called “green line,” the 1949 armistice line, “doesn't exist anymore,” particularly in regions where the population has grown dramatically, such as the Jerusalem area. Those countries that support a PA state on all land east of the armistice line are ignoring the reality on the ground, the group said.
PA Arabs, as well as Israelis, have built thousands of houses along the “green line,” and accepting the line as a border would mean the PA needs to uproot tens of thousands of people, they pointed out.
While support for a unilateral PA state is ill-advised, there is much the international community can do to promote peace and the diplomatic process, they said. Examples the group gave included putting sanctions on Iran, to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons and thus creating regional instability, preventing Gaza terrorists from firing rockets on Israeli civilians, and ending incitement in PA schools to kill Israelis.