Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor made a last-ditch appeal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to forego his "destructive march of folly at the UN" and instead "forge constructive solutions at the negotiating table" with Israel, in an oped published Thursday in the Wall Street Journal.
Prosor urged the international community to consider the consequences before rubber-stamping Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' bid to upgrade the PA's status to non-member state, arguing the initiative was premature for four reasons:
First, the territories over which the Palestinians seek to declare sovereignty are divided between warring factions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, Prosor noted, evidenced by the fact that Abbas has not stepped foot in the coastal enclave since his party was ousted by Hamas in a civil war in 2007;
Second, states recognized by the UN must pledge to be "peace-loving;" however, Prosor pointed out that Gaza is ruled by the Hamas terrorist organization, which earlier this month fired more than 1,200 rockets into Israeli civilian centers.
In Prosor's words, "The family of nations does not need another member whose primary import is deadly weapons and whose chief exports are extremism, hatred and terror."
Third, neither Gaza nor the West Bank are democratic in nature, Prosor contended. Hamas, he highlighted, "has imposed brutal tyranny in Gaza," whereas "President Abbas's mandate to rule expired three years ago."
Fourth, the Palestinian economy is non-viable, according to Prosor, completely dependent on foreign aid. Despite this, Prosor wrote, "this year, as the PA threatened to delay payroll for many employees, it tripled payments to convicted terrorists. Today the PA devotes 6% of its annual budget to payments for imprisoned terrorists and the families of suicide bombers, and less than 1% to higher education."
Prosor concluded by reiterating that "The foundations for real Palestinian statehood and real peace can only be laid through hard work on the ground and direct talks with Israel.
"When the foundations for lasting peace are in place, Israel will not be the last nation to welcome Palestinians to the UN. We will be the first."