Taranto Does it Again

One of my favourite columnists is James Taranto who writes the conservative-leaning humorous “Best of the Web Today”, published by the Wall Street Journal.

Below is his take on the Palestinian Statehood bid, I couldn’t have said it better.

----

You Do Have to Live Like a Refugee
How seriously should one take the Palestinian Authority's request for the U.N. to grant statehood without peace with Israel? Not very, we'd say, especially after reading this piece in the Daily Star of Beirut, Lebanon:

Palestinian refugees will not become citizens of a new Palestinian state, according to Palestine's ambassador to Lebanon.

From behind a desk topped by a miniature model of Palestine's hoped-for blue United Nations chair, Ambassador Abdullah Abdullah spoke to The Daily Star Wednesday about Palestine's upcoming bid for U.N. statehood.

The ambassador unequivocally says that Palestinian refugees would not become citizens of the sought for U.N.-recognized Palestinian state, an issue that has been much discussed. "They are Palestinians, that's their identity," he says. "But . . . they are not automatically citizens."

This would not only apply to refugees in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan or the other 132 countries where Abdullah says Palestinians reside. Abdullah said that "even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."

In other words, the statehood drive is a fraud. Its purpose is not to resolve the conflict but to keep it alive. Why does America continue giving money to these hucksters?