Is a Palestinian state the burning issue in the Middle East.

So they are trying to convince you that a Palestinian state is THE burning issue in the Middle East.

Certainly it takes up more time in the United Nations than any other world crisis.
More resolutions have been passed condemning Israel and supporting the Palestinians than, say, Ruanda, Darfur, Burma, and all the other trouble spots that are REALLY in crisis.

More committees have been set up, more personnel employed, more money spent, by the United Nations on the Palestinians than any other cause worldwide.
The Europeans have been pumping money, diplomats, media attention, at the Palestinians than anyone else.

Christian NGOs have been putting much of their resources into the Palestinian territories. This despite the fact that Palestinians have been persecuting and murdering their fellow Christians. (More of this in a future article).

All of this without any noticeable progress. Where has all the money gone?

And is the Palestinian problem really the focus of attention in the Middle East?
Is the creation of a Palestinian state the main issue for all their so-called supporters in the surrounding countries.
Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the one matter that is causing anguish in the local Arab world?

Let's look around the region and examine what is going on...

Lebanon has a major internal conflict between the secular and Christians who are a withering population valiantly trying to hold out against Islamic Hizbollah, and the murderous Syrians who seem determined to execute any politician who speaks up against them.

Iraqis have to get their act together. Everyone knows that they will continue to kill each other when the Coalition forces pull out.

Who would wish to be the leader of Egypt with their population explosion, their abject poverty, the internal threat of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Quaida sneaking into the Sinai region. They can't even maintain a stable four mile border with the Gaza Strip due to the corruption of their border guards. Their internal political and economical problems are a double headache that is not going away any time soon.

Like Egypt, Jordan has a peace agreement with Israel. They would love to develop strong economic ties with Israel but with a security eye on their internal Palestinian and Muslim population they are hindered from acting too boldly. Al Quaida has made the occasional forays into the Hashemite Kingdom and Abdullah sits on a shaky throne.

Syria tries to shows its muscle by causing grief in Iraq and in Lebanon. It is acting in an ambivalent manner with Israel. Its close links with Iran, Hamas, Hizbollah, and other insurgents and nuisance makers, makes it a doubtful partner for peace talks.

The Saudis are playing a dangerous game of stoking up the Wahhabi brand of Islam that creates radical terror while sucking up to the American administration.
The bloated royal family look anxiously at its population who, one day, could rise up and, in a fit of home grown radical Islam, remove the fat cats.
And what do you think will happen once these troublesome dudes, who hate the West, get their hands on the oil tap?

Iran, despite the recent "Let's make love" pronouncements of the little Tehran tyrant
is a danger not only to the region but to the whole world.
Yes, he protests too much that Palestinian is his reason for being, but this is a pretext for putting his proxies in place throughout the region. He is playing a much wider chess game, with Israel as his first pawn to take off the board.

Oil, a growing water shortage, over population, poverty, increasingly fractious populations, external pressures and threats, all occupy the mind of local leaders far more critically than the Palestinians.

If diplomats would tell you the truth they would tell you that regional leaders really can't stand the Palestinians.
They have used them as a third party to have a go at Israel. But, increasingly, they have become despairing of the Palestinian leadership, both past and present, who have proven themselves corrupt, weak, ineffective, to make use or value of the huge help and support they have been given.
They have despaired at the missed opportunities they have been offered.
They are frustrated now that the Palestinians have become fractious with a sizable section not willing to find a solution save for the elimination of Israel.

Despite what you've heard, most neighbouring countries can't stand the Palestinians.
Just look at recent history. Jordan, when on that Black September, King Hussein had enough of Arafat's meddling and threw them out. Or Kuwait, who expelled their Palestinian workers after they sided with Saadam Hussein in his invasion of their country. Or in Lebanon, with its recently terminated blood bath, when Lebanese forces cleared out a Palestinian terror group who had challenged the local militia. And surely Egypt must look at Hamas activities over its' border with Gaza with some trepidation.

Now come the latest revelations that the Palestinians actually decided to reject statehood over objections from within their organisations and submitting to external Arab pressure.
Certainly Arafat turned down a generous offer of nationhood with massive concessions given to him by Ehud Barak at Camp David and backed by President Clinton.
Clearly, even the Palestinians are not in a hurry for a state of their own - unless it replaces Israel, of course.

So, is the Palestinian issue the main event in this region?

With the exception of Iran, absolutely not!