The White House has determined that the Palestinians didn’t comply with the agreements that Yassar Arafat signed with the US and Israel. (via Lynn B.)
But despite the fact that legally, the US should impose sanctions on Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, Bush is choosing to waive them, citing security concerns.
The report, obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday, says the Palestinians have not complied with several elements of its agreements, including recognizing the right of Israel to exist in peace and security, solving all disputes through negotiation and peaceful means, and renouncing the use of violence.
Because of the sanction waiver, Monday’s actions have no concrete effect.
Some American Jewish organizational officials and lawmakers are nonetheless praising the symbolic gesture of chastising the Palestinians for their noncompliance, but are criticizing the president’s waiver of the sanctions.
Well, of course they’re criticizing the waiver of the sanctions. Not only is he telling Arafat it’s okay to break his promises, he’s also sending the message to the international community that it’s okay.
What will happen when more countries start blatantly ignoring the terms of treaties they’ve signed? What will happen when Palestinian supporters claim that it’s Israel who really broke the Oslo agreements, and despite the falsehood of this, they can point to the fact that the US never sanctioned Arafat?
This is like telling a kid not to steal candy, and when the kid steals it anyway, the parents let him keep it, allowing the shopkeeper to blame the kid’s little brother instead.
There needs to be a call on the US to impose these sanctions, to send a clear message.