No mention of a Palestinian state was made in the
Oslo Accords of 1993. Though Peres spoke of it after Rabin’s death,
Netanyahu informed Clinton of his unequivocal opposition. In 1998, the
President’s wife said that she supported the establishment of a
Palestinian state. In September of that year, Clinton visited Gaza. His
statements there constituted de-facto recognition of the Palestinian
state. The gathering in Gaza was not a formal meeting of the Palestinian
National Council and therefore lacked the authority to repeal the
Palestinian Covenant. Nevertheless, Clinton declared that it was abrogated
and the Israeli government was compelled to acquiesce. In fact, he and his
assistants supported the PLO from the beginning of his term. He at no
point insisted that Arafat implement the commitments which he assumed: to
halt the incitement in the schools, to reduce the number of “police”, to
put a stop to the smuggling of arms into the Authority territories, etc.
In July 1999, Clinton asserted that Palestinians “could live anywhere in
Israel”, and in doing so, disclosed his support for the Palestinian right
of return. He even reported to the Congress that Arafat stood in
compliance with all of his commitments.
He allowed Sadaam Hussein to develop weapons of mass
destruction and, for all intents and purposes, appointed Mubarak the local
sheriff and forced Israel to “consult with him as if he were an unbiased
bystander”. He also established an army of 650,000 soldiers equipped with
the most sophisticated American weapons in Egypt.
He appointed a long line of Jews to assist him led by
Sandy (Samuel) Berger – a member of “Breira” and “Peace Now” – widely
considered to be the brains behind the government during Clinton’s second
term.
Clinton hinted at his attitude towards Jerusalem when
his ambassador, Martin Indyk, refused to participate in the celebration of
Jerusalem’s 3000th anniversary. Eventually, at the Taba
meetings, he suggested the division of the city.
He
significantly deepened US involvement in Israel, which led to an increase
in Israel’s dependence on America. He bolstered the status of the CIA – in
addition to all of its previous activities including providing PLO members
with weapons training. And finally, he made promises to Netanyahu and
Barak which he ultimately failed to keep.
