Begin and Oslo (Talkback)

Mr. Netanyahu may think he has won, but there is an old saying you may
have "won the battle but lost the war". The congress does not control
the President or UN vote. They do not negotiate or speak to our European
allies. These same allies who are pushing the US to go in the same
direction that was in the presidents speech. If you read the article
written by President Carter in the May 25th opinion section of the New
York Times: "At Camp David in 1978, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem
Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat accepted the following words:
"The agreed basis for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between
Israel and its neighbors is United Nations Security Council resolution
242, in all its parts." Specifically concerning the West Bank and Gaza,
the Israelis and Egyptians mutually agreed: "In order to provide full
autonomy to the inhabitants under these arrangements the Israeli
military government and its civilian administration will be withdrawn as
soon as a self-governing authority has been freely elected by the
inhabitants of these areas. ..." As a result of the Oslo Accords of
1993, a self-governing authority was freely elected in January 1996,
with Yasir Arafat as president and 88 Parliament members. The
International Quartet's Roadmap for Peace in April 2003, supported by
President George W. Bush, began with these words: "A settlement,
negotiated between the parties, will result in the emergence of an
independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by
side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors. The
settlement will resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and end the
occupation that began in 1967. ..." This was a treaty negotiated with
the help of the US that Israel and Egypt agreed to. So it sets a
precedent for all future negotiations. In my opinion, if our European
allies all push for what President Obama suggested the Congress will not
stand in the way. The question is, did President Obama suggest this or
the US European allies pressure him to do this for their support. As
Tony Blair said today, the president is worried for Israel and the
September UN vote. Mr. Netanyahu may have alienated his biggest
supporter, the President of the United States.