WHO CAN ISRAEL TRUST? NOBODY

By Schmoel Yitzhak


Bill Clinton, the political con man's con man, delivered one of his typically fatuous statements this week to the effect that Israel "never had a better partner for peace" than the Palestinian Authority.

This was typically Bill. Clinton had just convened one of his patented -- and useless -- international parlays which are designed for two reasons and two reasons only: 1. To further pad his fat pocketbook; 2. To garner a few more headlines crafted for the civilized world to believe that he's still relevant and, perhaps, knows what he's talking about.

What we do know is that Bill Clinton is important in his own mind and has a coterie of suckers who love the taste of Bill's baloney. The second thing we know is that Bill doesn't know what the heck is going on in this world; otherwise he wouldn't be delivering contemptible comments about Israel's "partner for peace."

The fact of the matter is -- and has been since 1948 -- that Israel has no permanent partner for peace; and very likely never will.

Temporary ones, maybe.

Egypt was a hoped for example but we all know how long Anwar Sadat lasted.

Boom! Boom! Boom! And the angry Arabs -- in this case the Muslim Brotherhood -- disposed of him faster than you can say, "Where's Barack Obama's missing birth certificate?"

Enter Hosni Mubarak.

I won't say that Sadat's successor was frigid toward Israel but the warmth exuded by Sadat turned chillier than Autumn in the Arctic Circle.

A "Cold Peace" is the nicest thing one can suggest about Israeli-Egyptian relations. Any one who has studied the love affair between the two nations has to conclude that it has been a one-way romance. Israel woos and Egypt retorts with a non-embrace.

Should the current revolt in Cairo lead to Mubarak's ouster it is quite likely that militant Islam will annex Egypt and the peace treaty with Israel will turn to tissue, blown into the garbage by angry Arabs.

What's my point?

Bill Clinton knows full well what I'm certain Benjamin Netanyahu realizes: that there isn't an Arab country with which Israel can make a deal.

Israel gave up plenty -- and not just the Sinai -- to get Egypt to shake hands. What it eventually got in return was Cool Hand Mubarak; and that soon may be nothing more than that hand slapping Israel in the mug.

Who knows -- Jordan may be next.

Here's the checklist:

1. Iran's Shah goes down. The result is a nation whose current leader wants to blow Israel to smithereens. Not only that but he makes no bones about his wish to exterminate Jews.

2. Lebanon has effectively been annexed by Iran with Hezbollah's Nasrallah running the protectorate when he's not amassing rockets directed at Tel Aviv.

3. Turkey sanctions a phony flotilla designed to embarass Israel and has been taking pot shots at Bibi for months. With "friends" like Turkey, who needs enemies?

4. Hamas -- with blood on its hands after it overthrew the PA in Gaza -- is yet another rump Iranian republic taking orders -- and arms -- from Tehran.

With the above in mind, let's for a moment fantasize about Bill Clinton's suggestion that Israel has a Jim-Dandy peace partner in Mahmoud Abbas.

Pretend that real peace talks take place and eventually negotiations are concluded -- remember this is fantasy -- and a peace treaty is signed.

Since Abbas, Inc. now will have a nation of its own, the first thing it will do is arm and arm and ARM.

The second thing it will do is resist Hamas' attempt to annex the West Bank.

The third thing it will do is exactly what it did in Gaza; skidaddle out of there as fast as it can because Hamas knows all about a coup d' etat while the PA knows only how to stash American aid money -- and run.

If Bill Clinton -- and his Secretary of Fake, Hilary -- wanted to get serious, they would call a spade a spade when it comes to Arab perfidy, especially as it relates to Israel. Bill saw it firsthand when he was president but never had the guts to denounce Yasir Arafat and his PLO out loud for the entire world to hear.

In the end, Egypt's current revolt could easily result in the death of the Jerusalem-Cairo peace pact as it now stands.

That explains why an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact would have the shelf life of a ripe tomato.

How long do your tomatoes stay ripe, Bill?

And it certainly exists in the West Bank where Abbas has about as much genuine power as The Cowardly Lion from "The Wizard of Oz."

Come to think of it, there's good reason for Clinton to tout Abbas as "Israel's best partner for peace."

Baloney Bill and Mercurial Mahmoud have one thing in common -- CON with a capital C!