Weather It Is (A Slippery, Wet Slope)

We're fortunate that there's no rain predicted anytime soon, but first...

I clearly remember when the European Commission (EC) decided to treat the areas outside of the Green-Line as non-Israel for custom-duty purposes.  Mr. Olmert, Prime minister at that time, agreed rather meekly to acquiesce in this decision. Now, the J. Post is reporting that even some areas inside the old Green-Line will now be treated like those areas without.  One can imagine that the Palestinian representatives will now move to have any areas beyond the 1947 UN partition line relabed "non-Israeli" as well.

This is a major problem as we head into the winter season. Apparently, an addendum added at the last moment to EC custom duties updates stipulates the following: "Any rain-producing weather system that originates over EC territory and then moves southeastward towards Israeli will be subject to the Israel-EC trade agreement.  This means that any rain that falls east of the 1949 armistice line will be subject to tax -- per millimeter of rainfall.  Any failure to remit payment within one week of due such passage will result in the suspension of further deliveries of rain both the 'occupied' territories and Israel proper."

The EC is really playing hardball.

I think, though, that we need to view this as a tennis match, where the Palestinians are the judges.  We've got return serve, break serve, and basically make the Palestinians lose interest in the game.

I'd like to suggest the following steps to fight this: i) Israel should identify areas within the EC that were at one point under dispute and set-them outside the EU Israel trade agreement.  ii) We should annex area C, which will (to say the least) put any Palestinian businesses under the EU-Israel (non) agreement.  ii) We unilaterally amend the recent Israel-Palestinian agreement such that Palestinian businesses exporting to Europe will now have to pay a commensurate customs tax as Israeli businesses in the West Bank pay now.

While it is true that the West Bank Palestinians have largely abandoned their terrorist war, their negative diplomacy is simply a war by other means and we need to respond.  If we don't act now, even our beautiful summer days -- which still have a couple of weeks to go -- will be subject to an EC duty tax!

Barry Lynn