Hartford, Connecticut – June 12, 2006 - Today Webster Brooks, Vice-Presidential candidate on the Imperato- Brooks 2008 Independent ticket, released the following statement on the developing crisis between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Please join Webster on Wednesday, June 13 for a National Chat Session on Foreign Policy @ 7:00 p.m. by signing on to www.imperatobrooks.com

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The Roadmap to Peace is dead--killed by free elections that swept HAMAS to power and in the process, hermetically sealed the coffin of the Quartet's Two-State Solution. Since HAMAS's victory in January, and the Kadima Party's triumph in Israel's May elections, all roads, maps and walls are leading to a new One and One-half State Solution that could mark a return to the 1949 Armistice Line.

HAMAS's reluctance to recognize Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's refusal to negotiate with HAMAS as the Palestinian Authority (PA) elected government, has produced an impasse in which things are likely to get far worse before they get better. Prime Minister Olmert is moving forward to unilaterally casts Israel's new borders, in violation of the Roadmap's provisions that call for consultations with the PA. Israel's new borders are being established by the construction of a wall on the West Bank that is already one-third completed. The barrier, once characterized as temporary and movable, is taking on all the trappings of permanency. Israel's plans also call for control of 85% of Jerusalem, including East Jerusalem which is the holy, commercial and population center of the Palestinians. Israel has already begun expelling elected Palestinian representatives from Jerusalem for not renouncing their HAMAS association and condemning them as terrorists.

Furthermore, Israel has closed off access from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, effectively breaking the Palestinian territory into two separate entities. Sorely need goods from the West Bank cannot be transported to Gaza. Palestinian access to sea ports and air transport from Gaza have virtually been shut down, and trade has ground to a halt. New construction is underway for the Maskiot settlement deep in the West Bank, also in violation of Olmert's promise just two weeks ago to President Bush to halt Israeli expansion. Under these conditions, the evolution of the Palestinian territory into a viable economic state is becoming an impossibility. Quite the opposite, we are witnessing the creation of vassal state that faces daunting challenges and the potential to further destabilize the Middle East.

For its part, HAMAS has made a calculated decision not to recognize Israel, despite the Quartet's efforts to cut off funding needed to sustain the Palestinian Authority's governmental operations. Since February, Israel has frozen $60 million in taxes and customs income scheduled for transfer to the Palestinian Authority. Payroll for PA administration, schools, police, hospital and social services workers have not been met in months. A humanitarian crisis of epic proportions is deepening. Although the Palestinians have been successful in attracting some humanitarian aid for NGO's from several nations for food distribution, medicine and alternative schools, the Palestinian territory is on the verge of collapse. HAMAS has continued to cobble together a patchwork of contributing nations to keep the government afloat, as Iran, Venezuela and other Arab regimes anxious to certify their credentials as supporters of the Palestinian cause have provided gap funding. But this hardly enough. The Palestinian territory is literally being bled to death.

At the same time, Al Fatah's refusal to relinquish its PA security positions to HAMAS has led to running gunfights between the two organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. To make matters worse, Fatah's PA President Mahmoud, Abbas is attempting to undermine HAMAS by calling for a national referendum to recognize Israel's right to exist. HAMAS Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, has challenged the legality of Abbas's power play and taken a hard line against the referendum. Prime Minister Olmert, at the urging of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has indicated he is willing to talk with Abbas about negotiations, but Abbas's credibility and authority to negotiate are questionable at best. Abbas does not represent the newly elected majority of the HAMAS led Palestinian National Council.

Given the Palestinians dire situation, the obvious question for many is why HAMAS will not bend on the question of recognizing Israel? In large measure, HAMAS has honored the cease fire agreement for the past 16 months, but they cannot control or condemn Al Fatah's suicide attacks on Israel. HAMAS is determined not to go the way of Al Fatah, by striking deals with Israel and West, which they will believe will be disadvantageous for a Palestinian state in the long run. They would much rather change the entire political equation by proving that Palestinians can stand on their own, with the benefit of Arab largess and genuine supporters of their cause. This may be HAMAS's only shot at power, and they would rather risk the opportunity for "true" self-determination rather than knuckle under to Israel and the Quartet.

HAMAS is gambling that Israel will continue to violate internationally recognized agreements, and the tide of world public opinion will ultimately turn in their favor, thus forcing Israel to seek an accommodation. Just as HAMAS claimed that its resistance led to the turnover of Gaza, they will herald another moral and political victory if Israel is chastised by the international community and pressured to make concessions.

A key part of their strategy is to split the Quartet, by breaking United Nations and Russian support away from the United States and the European Union. HAMAS is also hoping that the Palestinians growing hatred of Israel's unilateral moves will translate into support for them, despite the increased suffering of their people. If HAMAS's self-sufficiency model wins the majority of Palestinian support, then they will have the leverage needed to marginalize their Al Fatah rivals. HAMAS barely won the majority of the vote in the January elections. What they need to rule is a more substantial majority mandate. HAMAS's rise to power was achieved by opposing an accommodation with Israel and the Roadmap, while providing basic services to the Palestinian people who grew disillusioned with the rampant corruption and inefficiency of Al Fatah. After 16 years of scratching, maneuvering and fighting its way to power, HAMAS seems determined not to traverse the same path.

HAMAS's gamble may be a long shot, but in the Middle East anything can happen, and it usually does. HAMAS should not be underestimated. Ideologically, they may be part of the trend professing the creation of a pan-Islamic caliphate, but their ascendency to the reigns of power suggest they are clever pragmatists as well. However, the clock is ticking on HAMAS. Over the next year they must hold together a shrinking and deformed state, while fending off President Abbas, Al Fatah, Israel and the Quartet's efforts to bankrupt the territory. Notwithstanding these challenges, they must also build majority support for their leadership. Should HAMAS fail, Palestine's future will be up for grabs.

With the Gaza Strip cut off from the West Bank by Israel's military partition, Gaza could by default become a protectorate of Egypt. As for the West Bank, Israel's control of the Jordan Valley and East Jerusalem, would spell disaster for any kind of legitimate Palestinian state. Like Gaza, the West Bank could easily devolve into a loose autonomous region of Jordan. Neither Jordan or Egypt would likely welcome these developments, but the crush of events is creating a momentum of its own. Israel's right to have safe and secure borders is unquestioned. The issue is whether Israel's rush to take unilateral action is justified, and if the boundaries they seek are equitable. Should Israel take advantage of the current turmoil to carve out an expanded state, and the protectorate scenario unfolds in Gaza and the West Bank, then the path of the Roadmap to Peace will end where it started in 1949, on the Armistice Line.

About Daniel Imperato, Presidential Candidate

Daniel was born in Boston, Mass (1958), and began his business career in 1977 transforming the manufacturing facilities in Israel through adapting them to the global marketplace along with bringing financing to the factories for global expansion. He also operated a trading company in Singapore and owned a manufacturing company in Belgium. Daniel brings over thirty years of experience in global business planning and development and has personal relationships at high levels around the world. Daniel has consulted for Fortune 500 corporations, with a mix of product lines, consisting of telecommunications products and services, telecommunications equipment including v-sat terminals and handheld mobile satellite telephones, along with passport and identification cards services and secure documents for foreign governments around the world. He is currently a Papal Knight with honors from the Vatican, and a board member for the African Center Foundation, a United Nations NGO, and the founder of Imperiali Organization ( www.imperiali.org). Presently, he has organized a Presidential Committee in order to organize support for a run at the White House in 2008.

About Webster Brooks, Vice Presidential Candidate

Webster Brooks was born in Colorado in 1956, and was raised in Detroit. In Detroit, Brooks saw the pride and spirit of Middle America growing up in a town that was heavily influenced by the auto industry and Motown music. Twenty Four years later, he ran for Mayor of Washington DC in 1990 as independent, and then worked with many democrats, republicans and independent in politics. In 2002, Brooks' organization, The National Black Republican Network, became the most popular public forum for Black conservatives and Republicans, but included independents as well. Brooks chaired the National Draft Colin for President Committee, active in 16 states in 1995, and was called an 'Intellectual Tour de Force' by the Detroit News. During this time, Brooks chaired the National Congress of Black Conservatives and the National Black Coalition for School Choice. He currently resides in Hartford, CT with his loving family.

For More Information Contact:
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Imperato-Brooks 2008
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This release was published on openPR.