Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Sarkozy Calls for Jerusalem to be Divided

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been in Jerusalem the past couple of days and yesterday addressed the Israeli Knesset. While he was generally well received, Sarkozy said that Jerusalem must be shared. Specifically, this means East Jerusalem would be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Sarkozy said, "It's a holy city for three faiths, Jews, Christians and Muslims. Can Jerusalem be for one side and not the other? I don't think so."

Is Sarko suggesting Israel has denied Muslims and Christians access to their holy sites in Jerusalem? Did Jews have access to our holy sites between 1948 and 1967? Absolutely not. So why accuse Israel of doing something of which it is not guilty?

On top of that, Sarkozy has also said construction of the security fence will not bring Israel peace. That implies the Palestinians want to live with Israel as their neighbor if not for the security fence. It's the same red herring as the settlements (which, yes, Sarko also criticized). The security fence keeps suicide bombers out.

While Sarkozy opposes talking with Hamas, his Foreign Affairs Minister, Bernard Kouchner, does not.

All in all while Sarkozy is an improvement over Chirac concerning Israel, France is at best sending very mixed messages to Israel.

Oh well, at least they got to gaze upon Carla Bruni.

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