We begin in February, when Barak went to Washington and spent nearly two weeks trying to make peace with Hafez Assad of Syria. During those negotiations, Barak offered Assad everything the latter demanded. The final result was that Assad turned Barak down flat.
In May, Barak pulled the IDF out of Lebanon because he couldn't bring himself to give them the orders they needed to fight a proper battle. It was hoped then that this move would bring peace to the northern border of Israel. For a while, it seemed to have worked. But now, all that has falled apart.
In July, Barak travelled to Camp David, this time to attempt to reach a final agreement with Arafat. After 16 days, and with Barak offering Arafat everything including the Temple Mount and a division of Jerusalem, Arafat walked away rejecting Barak's generosity.
And in October, last week, Barak travelled to Paris to meet with Arafat and US Secretary of State Albright in an effort to reach an agreement to end a week's worth of fighting. Fighting, you will recall, that was instigated by Arafat since he was losing the PR battle stemming from Camp David. In Paris, Arafat didn't simply walk away when he heard Barak's latest offer, he ran forcing Albright to chase him and virtually imprison him in the compound.
Barak has tried to reach agreements with two of Israel's most incorrigible enemies. He tried four times, and, after one partial success, he struck out.
So what is to be done about this situation? In baseball, after three strikes, even with one ball fouled off, you go back to the bench and simply watch the game. But, alas, this isn't baseball, and Barak is unwilling to slink off to the dugout to let the Knesset take over.
Barak, it seems, couldn't get the Arabs to agree to his concessions. With Syria, he offered the Golan Heights. With Lebanon, he offered them a full retreat guaranteed by the UN. With Arafat, he first offered Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, and then in Paris, he offered Joseph's tomb as well.
Neither Arafat, nor Assad, nor Hizbullah accepted these offers. The violence continues as I write this column. And Barak? On Friday, he gave Arafat control of the Temple Mount by simply pulling his forces out and allowing Barak's troops to throw stones and firebombs on the plaza below, and to open fire from the Temple Mount on Israeli troops outside the gates. Barak prevented Jews from praying at the holiest site in the world, but allowed Arab terrorists free reign to shoot the place up without so much as a vocal objection.
On Friday night, Barak ordered the IDF to abandon Joseph's tomb to Arafat's terrorists without any agreement. The PLO gang promptly destroyed the compund and hoisted their flag over the remains.
And on Saturday morning, the Hizbullah, under orders from Syria, invaded Israeli territory at two points in the eastern Galilee, and kidnapped three Israeli soldiers. The most Israel could do about this was complain bitterly to the UN. It seems that UN peacekeeping troops watched the kidnappings take place and did nothing to stop them.
The upshot of this whole weekend is that Barak has simply given away his last negotiating positions without getting anything in return. He has abandoned three more soldiers in the field, bringing the total from this week alone to four. That is not counting those he left to die at Tze'elim in 1992.
What exactly is there left for Barak to negotiate with, assuming negotiations ever take place again? For it seems to me that Barak is still trying to find some way of restarting the Oslo process which has now lead Israel to the brink of war. So not only is Barak abandoning his land, and his country, he is abandoning his people as well. Is this the way for a "Prime Minister of everyone" to behave?
Actually, the Associated Press got it right for once. On Thursday, they ran a picture of Ehud Barak speaking at the Elysee Palace. The picture was a wide-angle shot and featured Barak standing all alone with his hands in his pockets. No cabinet, no peace partners, no allies, no troops. Just Barak. The Prime Minister of no one.
Copyright 2000. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
