In addition to the money and the permits, Israel will give senior PA officials “VIP passes” so they can pass through Israeli security checkpoints without being inspected (despite past experience when Yassir Arafat would smuggle weapons into Gaza in the trunk of his diplomatically protected car), and 1,100 Palestinian Arab businessmen will be given “commercial passes.”
State Department officials hailed these unilateral concessions as “confidence-building measures.” The problem, of course, is that the only confidence they build is the Palestinian Authority’s confidence, not the Israelis', and that Israel will keep making concessions, no matter how the PA responds.
Recall that last August, Israel gave the PA $160-million and 1,200 residency permits. Did that result in peace? Harmony? Coexistence? Even a brief cease-fire? Hardly. It was followed by more shootings, stabbings, and bombings. Expect more of the same as soon as the new $32-million check is cashed. READ MORE
