Palestinian Terrorism Defeated?

Among the welcome side-effects of the reform movement in Saudi Arabia and of the Sunni Arab alliance to fight terrorism is this: Palestinian terrorists are now losing… both the battle and the war.

Will President Trump keep his promise and move the U. S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? Will he recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? All presidential candidates swear that they will do it. Apparently, the Trump administration is poised to make a move?

The Wall Street Journal paints a picture of Palestinian defeat:

As the White House considers a proposal to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv and recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, frustrated Palestinians concede they have few options to counter the controversial move….

With Palestinians themselves deeply divided, and Arab states offering little opposition to White House proposals, hopes for a path to Palestinian statehood in the near term appear​extremely dim.

To some, even protests against the U.S. Embassy move seem futile now. “Who is going to protest with us?” Mahdi Hejazi, 71 years old, said outside Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque after leaving Friday prayers. “We are like someone stuck at the bottom of a well. Even if we scream, no one hears us.”

As Israel makes giant strides toward victory over the Palestinian insurgency and as Prime Minister Netanyahu advances the nation diplomatically around the world, we note that the opposition party, led by Ehud Barak is gnashing its teeth… because Netanyahu has not made sufficient concessions to the Palestinians. The Israeli left, along with the American and Western European left, still believes that peace treaties are a panacea. Isn't it time they checked in to the Reality Motel?

Most importantly for the calculation, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have not voiced any open objection. They prefer to have good relations with President Trump. And I suspect that they also want to develop closer ties with Israel. After all, Israel can sell them high technology. What do the Palestinians have to offer the world… besides terrorism.

The Journal report continues:

At the same time, Palestinians acknowledge the U.S. hasn’t announced anything concrete about the plan, which still appears to be under discussion. Meanwhile, their long-time supporters in other parts of the Arab world—such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt—have been keen to cultivate closer ties to President Donald Trump’s administration. They have largely kept quiet after news the U.S. was considering the embassy move.

“We have no cards to play,” said Ahmed Azzam, a 35-year-old accountant after prayers. “Even violence isn’t going to lead anyone anywhere.”