iHaveNet.com
South America Enters Middle East Quagmire | South America & Palestine
Your Single Source to Current Events, News Analysis & Reviews.
  • HOME
  • WORLD
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Balkans
    • Caucasas
    • Central Asia
    • Eastern Europe
    • Europe
    • Indian Subcontinent
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • North Africa
    • Scandinavia
    • Southeast Asia
    • United Kingdom
    • United States
    • Argentina
    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Benelux
    • Brazil
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Ireland
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Korea
    • Mexico
    • New Zealand
    • Pakistan
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Russia
    • South Africa
    • Spain
    • Taiwan
    • Turkey
    • United States
  • USA
    • ECONOMICS
    • EDUCATION
    • ENVIRONMENT
    • FOREIGN POLICY
    • POLITICS
    • OPINION
    • TRADE
    • Atlanta
    • Baltimore
    • Bay Area
    • Boston
    • Chicago
    • Cleveland
    • DC Area
    • Dallas
    • Denver
    • Detroit
    • Houston
    • Los Angeles
    • Miami
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Phoenix
    • Pittsburgh
    • Portland
    • San Diego
    • Seattle
    • Silicon Valley
    • Saint Louis
    • Tampa
    • Twin Cities
  • BUSINESS
    • FEATURES
    • eBUSINESS
    • HUMAN RESOURCES
    • MANAGEMENT
    • MARKETING
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • SMALL BUSINESS
    • STOCK MARKETS
    • Agriculture
    • Airline
    • Auto
    • Beverage
    • Biotech
    • Book
    • Broadcast
    • Cable
    • Chemical
    • Clothing
    • Construction
    • Defense
    • Durable
    • Engineering
    • Electronics
    • Firearms
    • Food
    • Gaming
    • Healthcare
    • Hospitality
    • Leisure
    • Logistics
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Newspaper
    • Nondurable
    • Oil & Gas
    • Packaging
    • Pharmaceutic
    • Plastics
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Shipping
    • Sports
    • Steelmaking
    • Textiles
    • Tobacco
    • Transportation
    • Travel
    • Utilities
  • WEALTH
    • CAREERS
    • INVESTING
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • REAL ESTATE
    • MARKETS
    • BUSINESS
  • STOCKS
    • ECONOMY
    • EMERGING MARKETS
    • STOCKS
    • FED WATCH
    • TECH STOCKS
    • BIOTECHS
    • COMMODITIES
    • MUTUAL FUNDS / ETFs
    • MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS
    • IPOs
    • 3M (MMM)
    • AT&T (T)
    • AIG (AIG)
    • Alcoa (AA)
    • Altria (MO)
    • American Express (AXP)
    • Apple (AAPL)
    • Bank of America (BAC)
    • Boeing (BA)
    • Caterpillar (CAT)
    • Chevron (CVX)
    • Cisco (CSCO)
    • Citigroup (C)
    • Coca Cola (KO)
    • Dell (DELL)
    • DuPont (DD)
    • Eastman Kodak (EK)
    • ExxonMobil (XOM)
    • FedEx (FDX)
    • General Electric (GE)
    • General Motors (GM)
    • Google (GOOG)
    • Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)
    • Home Depot (HD)
    • Honeywell (HON)
    • IBM (IBM)
    • Intel (INTC)
    • Int'l Paper (IP)
    • JP Morgan Chase (JPM)
    • J & J (JNJ)
    • McDonalds (MCD)
    • Merck (MRK)
    • Microsoft (MSFT)
    • P & G (PG)
    • United Tech (UTX)
    • Wal-Mart (WMT)
    • Walt Disney (DIS)
  • TECH
    • ADVANCED
    • FEATURES
    • INTERNET
    • INTERNET FEATURES
    • CYBERCULTURE
    • eCOMMERCE
    • mp3
    • SECURITY
    • GAMES
    • HANDHELD
    • SOFTWARE
    • PERSONAL
    • WIRELESS
  • HEALTH
    • AGING
    • ALTERNATIVE
    • AILMENTS
    • DRUGS
    • FITNESS
    • GENETICS
    • CHILDREN'S
    • MEN'S
    • WOMEN'S
  • LIFESTYLE
    • AUTOS
    • HOBBIES
    • EDUCATION
    • FAMILY
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HOME DECOR
    • RELATIONSHIPS
    • PARENTING
    • PETS
    • TRAVEL
    • WOMEN
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • BOOKS
    • TELEVISION
    • MUSIC
    • THE ARTS
    • MOVIES
    • CULTURE
  • SPORTS
    • BASEBALL
    • BASKETBALL
    • COLLEGES
    • FOOTBALL
    • GOLF
    • HOCKEY
    • OLYMPICS
    • SOCCER
    • TENNIS
  • Subscribe to RSS Feeds EMAIL ALERT Subscriptions from iHaveNet.com RSS
    • RSS | Politics
    • RSS | Recipes
    • RSS | NFL Football
    • RSS | Movie Reviews
South America Enters Middle East Quagmire
Andres Oppenheimer

HOME > WORLD

 

Following the recent decisions by Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador to officially recognize a state of Palestine, supporters of the Palestinian cause are preparing for their next big step: a South America-wide declaration recognizing a Palestinian state in a territory that would include East Jerusalem and other territories currently held by Israel.

The proposal is likely to be debated at a summit of South American and Arab countries to be held Feb. 16 in Lima, Peru. Organizers say the summit will be attended by nine South American leaders, including Brazil's new President Dilma Rousseff, and 11 Arab heads of state.

There is no consensus in South America on whether -- or how -- to recognize a Palestinian state.

Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay recognized a Palestine state along borders prior to the 1967 war, in which Israel took -- or regained, depending on which side you stand -- East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Venezuela is a fierce supporter of the Palestinian cause and Uruguay has announced that it will soon recognize a Palestinian state.

Chile has taken distance from the Brazilian-led pro-Palestine statements by recognizing a Palestinian state but without any reference to pre-1967 borders, while Peru says it has not yet decided what to do. Colombia says it will not recognize a Palestinian state until Israel and Palestinian leaders reach a peace agreement.

The issue is already raising tensions amid Palestinian and Jewish communities throughout the region.

Walid Muaqqat, Palestinian ambassador to Argentina, told me that there will be a proposal at the Lima summit "to issue a final declaration recognizing a sovereign and independent Palestinian state in borders preceding June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian state's capital." That's what's mandated under United Nations resolutions demanding Israel's withdrawal from occupied territories, he added.

But Israel and the United States say the South American countries' offensive to recognize a Palestinian state in pre-1967 borders is an obstacle to peace negotiations, noting that United Nations resolutions call for a negotiated solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A unilateral recognition without a peace agreement would violate U.N. mandates, they say.

What's worse, the current South American pro-Palestinian offensive will move the Palestinians further away from the negotiating table, Israeli diplomats say. If Palestinian leaders can create a critical mass of countries at the United Nations that recognize a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, they will try to force that on Israel, and tensions will worsen, they say.

Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, Yigal Palmor, told me that a South America-wide recognition of a Palestinian state along the lines of the recent Brazilian declaration would be "counter-productive." He added, "Palestinians at this moment are refusing to return to the negotiating table. This will encourage them not to renew negotiations."

Earlier this week, I asked Peru Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaúndewhether the Lima summit will produce a final declaration recognizing a Palestinian state in pre-1967 borders. He responded that because the summit's agreements must be taken by consensus and some South American countries remain undecided or oppose the idea, "it will be difficult to approve a commitment by all to act in that direction."

My opinion: Most South American countries will attend the Lima summit for economic, rather than political, reasons. But Arab countries, alongside Brazil and Venezuela, may succeed in obtaining a final declaration that will come close to a regional recognition of a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders.

That would be pretty one-sided. If South American countries are determined to jump into the quagmire of Middle Eastern politics -- at the risk of increasing tensions among their Palestinian and Jewish communities at home -- they should do it even-handedly.

It's OK to support creation of a Palestinian state -- there should be one, and soon -- and it's OK to put pressure on Israel's hard-line government to freeze the settlements in disputed areas and to withdraw from others.

But that should go alongside demanding that Palestinians recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and that they give up their demand for the right of return of up to four million descendants of Palestinian refugees, which would amount to the demographic destruction of Israel.

South American leaders should either put pressure on both sides or stay out of the Middle Eastern mess.

 

Available at Amazon.com:

The Great Gamble

At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes

 

  • Latin America's Economic Bonanza May Be Short-Lived
  • South America Enters Middle East Quagmire
  • What Haiti Really Needs: A Lot More Trees
  • Culture Matters: Real Obstacles to Latin American Development
  • Argentina Needs to Face Education Debacle
  • South American Diary
  • Obama's Pending Assignment: Reconnecting With Hispanics and Latin America
  • Spanish Classes Thriving in U.S. Colleges
  • Colonialism Still at Heart of Africa's Growing Pains
  • The Empty Chair
  • North Korea: The World's Problem Child
  • Save the North Koreans!
  • For Middle East Peace, Israel Must Prepare for Nuclear War
  • Iran Nuclear Talks: A Widening Chasm
  • A Sordid Dance in Afghanistan
  • Holding the Course in Afghanistan
  • As New START Debate Rages, Quiet Nuclear Progress With Russia
  • Colombia Takes a Step Back From United States
  • American Colleges See Fewer Latin Americans
  • Latin American Militaries Playing With Fire
  • How Will Mexico Escape Its Season in Hell?
  • Latin American Leaders Could Have Learned From South Korea
  • Region Ignoring Venezuela Coup Threats
  • To Fight Corruption, Start Cutting Red Tape
  • New Congress Won't Lead to 'Fortress America'
  • Bachelet Faces Uphill Battle at U.N. Women
  • A New Global Player: Brazil's Far-Flung Agenda
  • Rise in Tourism to Miami May Signal Danger Ahead
  • Peru May Be Next Latin American Success Story
  • Nobel Winner Right About Risks of e-Books
  • Nestor Kirchner's Death May Mark End of an Era
  • Chavez a Pain for Spain
  • Chavez Lost Ground but Will Fight Back
  • Education Too Important to Be Left in Government Hands
  • Latin America In Denial About the Quality of Its Schools
  • Millennium Development Goals for Women Largely Unmet
  • North Korean Succession Plans Are Shrouded in Mystery
  • Rogue BFFs North Korea and Iran Make Quite a Pair
  • American Role in Israeli-Palestinian Talks Is a Problem
  • Iraq Reluctant to Pay Its Fair Share of Security Costs
  • Iran's 'Shaky' Ahmadinejad
  • United States Could Be Alone as Europe Turns Inward
  • Hugo Chavez May Lose Even if He Wins
  • Brazil Needs Dose of Constructive Paranoia
  • Latin American Commodity Exporters Need to Diversify
  • Stoned on Righteousness
  • Our Man in Moscow
  • Widening Divide in American-Chinese Commercial Interests
  • The New Old World Order
  • Global Human-Rights Cause Gets a Shot in the Arm
  • Obama's Foreign Policy Performance
  • New Russia Takes Root in Saint Petersburg and Moscow
  • Dismantling Worst-Case Proliferation Scenarios
  • A Numbers Game in the Middle East
  • Middle East Peace Talks: Here We Go Again
  • Obama and Clinton Revive Middle East Peace Talks
  • Guess Who's Coming to the Table
  • Iraq: Unanswered Policy Questions on U.S. Troops
  • Iraq: Implications of a Pointless War
  • Iraq: Book Review
  • Iraq: No Drums and No Bugles: None Dare Call It Victory
  • Pakistan's Leadership Sustains Flood Damage
  • A French Leftist Ritual Takes on Sarkozy
  • United States Losing Latin America Market Share
  • The Power of Being Multilingual
  • Chavez's Obsession With Past Turns Creepy and He's Not Alone
  • Obama Could Help Stop Mexico's Bloodshed
  • Mexico Needs U.S. Help But Not Troops
  • Mexico's Narco Problems Are Our Problems, and Vice Versa
  • Pro-Arizona Immigration Rhetoric Will Haunt Republicans
  • We Are Playing Fidel Castro's Game
  • Has the Time Come to Legalize Drugs?
  • Venezuela - Colombia Spat to Pass, Return
  • Hugo Chavez Might Keep Congress Despite Vote
  • Reform Movement in Cuba
  • Cuba's Prisoner Release No Sign of New Era
  • 'Maradona Syndrome' Bad for Argentina
  • Obama Wasting Opportunities in Latin America
  • Obama Immigration Speech All Words -- No Action
  • Obama Immigration Reform: Tell It to Us Straight
  • Obama's Unclear Path to Immigration Reform
  • Obama's Border Talk: Little Action
  • Mexico: The New Cocaine Cowboys
  • Under Santos Colombia Could Rise to the Next Level
  • Autocrats' Latest Weapon: Indirect Censorship
  • Latin America's Rich Should Be More Generous
  • Castrocare in Crisis
  • World Cup Soccer Can Have Political Impact
  • Gulf Oil Spill Could Bring U.S. and Cuba Closer
  • Colombia Vote Showed Social Media's Limits
  • New Political Winds in Latin America
  • Colombia: Moving Beyond 'Narco-Democracy'
  • Is Colombia's Front-runner Too Romantic? Not Really
  • Mexico has its own 'Arizona' problem
  • Brazil Diplomacy Needed Closer to Home
  • Hugo Chavez Ceding too Much Control to Cuba
  • Cuban Cardinal Says Too Little Too Late
  • The Starving Armenians
  • Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Law Will Spark Hispanic Exodus
  • Open Season on Latinos in Arizona
  • Obama Criticism of Arizona Immigration Law Ignores Federal Incompetence
  • Mexico's Big Hope: Get 5 Million U.S. Retirees
  • U.S. Latin Policy: Big Gestures and Little Substance
  • Latin America Must Diversify Trade With China
  • Cuba After Fidel and Raul Castro
  • Earthquake May Delay Chile's First World Goal

 

(C) 2010 Andres Oppenheimer, The Miami Herald Distributed by Tribune Media Services

 

Search Powered By Google

Google Search   

Job & Career Search

career & job search                    job title, keywords, company, location

ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement

Advertisement

ADVERTISEMENT

  • HOME
  • WORLD
  • USA
  • BUSINESS
  • WEALTH
  • STOCKS
  • TECH
  • HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • SPORTS

World - South America Enters Middle East Quagmire | Global Viewpoint

  • Services:
  • RSS Feeds
  • Shopping
  • Email Alerts
  • Site Map
  • Privacy