Former Irish ambassador to the UN, Richard Ryan gives his opinion in the Irish Times on how best to guarantee Israel’s security. But what does he conclude is the single biggest obstacle to achieving this security and a two-state solution?
But behind the lurid scenario that has yet again unfolded before us, there continues to develop in the background perhaps the greatest threat to real and lasting peace. The Israeli settlements policy – and it is nothing less than a deliberate, steadily unrolling policy – is destroying systematically the very doability of that one remaining solution scenario. This Israeli official policy-rooted creep across the West Bank is eroding every day the vital cartography and viability of the nascent Palestine state on which the final deal, and Israel’s security, depend.
The Jerusalem – including East Jerusalem – component of this problem will require, and will receive, special and appropriately delicate attention. But, above all, right now, it is an absolute priority that this West Bank settlements policy be stopped and reversed. An Israeli and a Palestinian statesman would see this, but where are these statesmen?
It is perfectly legitimate to question Israel’s settlement policy. But to claim that it is the “greatest threat to real and lasting peace,” however, is to fly in the face of reality.
Indeed, nowhere in Ryan’s article is there any mention of Palestinian responsibilities for a lack of peace in the region. Nothing about terrorism, nothing about incitement, nothing about internal Palestinian conflicts.
And ultimately there is nothing from Ryan concerning Palestinian rejectionism and the real obstacle to peace – the failure of the Palestinians to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state in the Middle East.
Instead, for Richard Ryan, it’s all about the settlements.
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81 Comments
Why are you calling them settlements? Those are constructions projects on land that belongs to Israel and yes I know the land the Arabs would like to call their own.
There is no arguing with the eternally hateful and stupid.
Richard Ryan is an unmitigated moron!!!!!
The only way there is going to be peace with the palestinians is when Israel ceases to exist.
Israel has done more than their share to insure peace. Now it is up to the palestinians.
The right answer to people like Abbas and Ryan is exactly what Bibi is doing.
One terror attack? 1000 new homes for Jews. It’s so simple even Arabs will get it.. eventually.
Well, he’s almost correct. The settlements are “today’s” bitch. Tomorrow or the next day it will be something else. But do not get too riled. Ireland isn’t really a country anyway, and the Irish are almost the world’s best drunks, wife-beaters and worst poets. The Poles have got them beat on the first two counts. Every Rap composer qualifies as the best int the latter category, especially Irish rap composers for whom Dante has another ring in hell. . I am currently composing a rap song called “Don’t call my bitch no ho.” But can’t think of anything to rhyme with “no ho”.
He must be blind and deaf…but unfortunately for him for Palestinians he is as bad as any christian or Jew…they hate him the same…
No, it is not ‘perfectly legitimate to question Israel’s settlement policy’ because the question is intrinsically racist. No one would dare ask the question of any other people/race on the planet.
Imagine if one questioned the right of Pakistanis to settle in Bradford, for example?
There would be uproar. And further, to impede the Jewish right of settlement anywhere in Judea and Samaria contravenes Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine, the provisions of which are still binding in international law.
note to ambushador ryan. wake up and smell the coffee. kiss the blarney stone. go to dinner with an oirish colleen. you will learn more about life that way than all the b.s. you are sprouting. if you don’t see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, do not invent with your mouth.
Richard Ryan, do you not read up on the history of your own beleaguered country? The Magdalene laundry situation which enslaved thousands of young un-wed mothers, the nuns who demoralised these young people and the Irish priests who abused and buried the young choir boys in their care, the list goes on so whilst you point a finger at the one democratic country in the middle east, I suggest you sniff your finger and recollect where it has been before uttering one more syllable against Jews and Israel..!
This jerk Ryan is either stupid, antiSemitic, or both. I guess he’s not aware of the innumerable attacks on Israel by its Islamist neighbors BEFORE there was 1 settlement. Wonder how he would explain those, if it’s “all about the settlements”!
Ryan should try reading the PLO and Hamas Charters and then talk about what is holding up peace talks. Was the IRA that deep in with the PLO he can’t get his head out of ….
“Ambassador to the UN”……There as useless as he is
Zionism = Racism!
Free Palestine
MR. IRISH DIPLOMAT… (a) How about YOUR Country? is everything ok and working well? (b) Palestine and Palestinians are figments of antisemites’ imagination… they never existed; (c)Before sticking your nose where you don’t belong, check theb facts, clean out your house then come and try moralising us!
I am not interested in what this moron says. Israel must not give up any part of Jerusalem! It should not have been divided in the very first place! Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel – land of the Jewish people whose God is Eternal!
What, exactly, has Israel done to ensure peace? Treating Palestinian children as metaphorical blades of grass in their periodical bouts of “mowing the lawn”? Upholding, in the face of international condemnation and disgust the illegal and inhumane occupation, and blockade? Promulgating and fomenting lies and myths, brainwashing its own citizens with regards to its own history in order to continue the justification to oppress and subjugate the indigenous peoples of the place you call home? Ensuring peace, indeed. It has never been more crystal clear that Israeli leaders have absolutely no intention of allowing the Palestinian people any semblance of dignity or statehood. Despite their rhetoric, their actions speak for themselves and are entirely counter-productive to peace, and always have been.
How can you have a genesis like Israel’s – where the large swaths of Arab land were taken by a far superior and brutal force, while the British looked on indifferently – expelling hundreds of thousands from their homes and murdering thousands. Where you, to this day, brazenly look upon the descendants of those you took everything from when you ethnically cleansed them, like sub-human entities to be controlled and demonised. It is human nature to resist tyranny. There’s no reasonable thinking person who, once looking objectively into the history of the state of Israel and their actions with regards to the Palestinian people, through their own historical records, might I add, who could fail to comprehend why the Palestinians resist their subjugation.
Truth is twisted and history is bastardised to protect the myth of Israel’s benevolent and benign intentions – but the world is wise to it now. Israel’s legacy is blood-soaked. There is nothing noble or righteous about what is, and has been done in the name of the security of the Jewish people, and it is particularly despicable that all of this has been done in a region of the world, and to a race of people who gave shelter and solace to the Jewish people during a time when they were being persecuted and oppressed all over Europe by Christians. People are now beginning to understand that there was no centuries-long conflict between Arabs and Jews. On the contrary, Jews and Arabs have lived side by side in peace and harmony in the Middle East for centuries – even when the Jews were the minority in a region, they and their traditions were respected and recognised by the Arab people. Now, not even the humanity of the Arabs is recognised, never mind respected by the Zionist ideology. Jews vs Arab is not the problem. Zionism is the problem. And don’t bother telling me that I’m Anti-Semitic. Many of my heroes are or were Jewish. In fact, most of them are. I can honestly say that there probably is no other people in history who have done more to advance the human race in so many diverse ways than the Jewish people. A remarkable people.
Rather than using the term ‘settlements’ it is factually mre correct to say ‘population transfer’.
It is horrible that such bias commentary exists. It is one thing to criticize Israel and comment upon the existence of settlements . However it is foolish to ignore that Hamas and other groups in the region refuse to accept the existence of Israel.
Israel is an Illegal State Established by force by the Brits and Imperialists to help Ashkinazi from europe to steal Palestinian Land.
Israel Never Existed,, but it exist By force with corruption of the West and UN.
Non Of the arab Accepted The Establishment of Israel in 1948. how you pretend that West is Democracy and you force Establishing Israel in middle of Arab countries, Why Israel play Football with Europe ? because they are Ashkinazi with Bi National.
Stop Settlements and Let Olives Trees grown in Palestinian Land. Stop Killing Innocent Palestinian.
West Made ISIL to keep people busy with demonising Muslim and Arab, in Saddam Era there was no ISIL or Islamists.
FREE Palestine.
Lets talk incitement shall we http://youtu.be/SDNFdjwolaI
Israeli occupation, its brutal policy of taking over Palestinian land is the root cause of the entire conflict. Settlements are strategically located to divide the region in such a way that together with Jewish-only roads, checkpoints, the apartheid wall, all of West Bank is virtually occupied leaving Palestinians on small islands of land.
Also note that in 2000 Arafat offered to recognize Israel as a state, and was willing to accept an 80 percent loss of land by accepting loss of all of historic Palestinian except for Gaza and the West-Bank. Israel however rejected this offer and refused to dismantle settlements and went on to annex more of the land in the West-Bank in order to maintain these settlements. If these settlements are so irrelevant and occupy so little land, why does Israel decline them? Why does Israel continue the policy of taking over more land?
Israeli occupation, its brutal policy of taking over Palestinian land is the root cause of the entire conflict. Settlements are strategically located to divide the region in such a way that together with Jewish-only roads, checkpoints, the apartheid wall, all of West Bank is virtually occupied leaving Palestinians on small islands of land.
Also note that in 2000 Arafat offered to recognize Israel as a state, and was willing to accept an 80 percent loss of land by accepting loss of all of historic Palestinian except for Gaza and the West-Bank. Israel however rejected this offer and refused to dismantle settlements and went on to annex more of the land in the West-Bank in order to maintain these settlements. If these settlements are so irrelevant and occupy so little land, why does Israel decline them? Why does Israel continue the policy of taking over more land?
Israel is the major threat to world peace. It badgers, bullies and screams blue murder against any criticism. This Zionist entity hiding behind Judaism is systematically clearing the land of all non Jews.
Israel is bang out of order with what they are doing to the Palistinians. Its time every world leader insisted Israel stop stealing Palistinian land, stop incarnating innocent childen, stop brutalising Palistinian women & men. Most of all stop murdering Palistinian people & stop desecrating Palistinian mosques. Israel have become what WW2 made the older generation.
Can the Irish Times please point out the acts of terrorism over the last 10 years?
How many Israelis have died in 10 years? About 200
How many Palestinians? Over 6200.
If the Irish Times is attempting to imply they the feeble response of Palestine to Israels grossly bloody ethnic cleansing, is in any way a contributing factor to that Rthnic Cleansing, then the Irish Times has no integrity whatsoever, because The IT knows this is not the case.
Imagine if one were to say the things about Israel that many Israelis say about Palestine. You’d be arrested for hate speech and incitement to violence .
Tell us oh Israel, who made you the Zchosen ones again?
The whole world is watching Israel break international law, committing war crimes on a daily basis in OCCUPIED Palestine and the people. Over 2000 people and up wards of 500 children killed during the 51 days of operation protective Edge. Shame in Israel and shame on anyone who supports them
Just another Jew-baiting moron with the IQ of a paperclip.
Linda Prince Johnson another paid troll. Do you know how silly you sound to the whole world.