Another dead end in the Middle East?
By Max J. Castro
majcastro@gmail.com
The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have reached a predictable impasse. Despite pleas from virtually the entire international community — including U.S. President Barack Obama, the EU, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to defy the world and instead satisfy his right-wing parliamentary coalition partners by resuming construction on Palestinian land in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Abbas, his legitimacy already in question because he represents the losing party in the last Palestinian elections won by his nemesis Hamas, had threatened to suspend the talks if Israel did not extend the (partial) freeze on settlement construction.
After Israel announced its decision to renew settlement construction full blast, Abbas met with leaders of the Palestinian Authority and his own Fatah party, who strongly supported the decision to suspend peace talks. Abbas is slated to meet this week with representatives of the Arab League before making a final decision on ending or resuming peace talks. While Netanyahu has claimed that a “restrained” resumption of settlement construction would not interfere with peace talks, the Palestinians and the Arab League have demanded a complete and unconditional suspension of all construction activities.
The United States has pulled out all the stops to prevent these talks from ending as all other Palestinian-Israeli negotiations have concluded: in dismal failure and mutual blame. In spite of the $3 billion a year the United States provides Israel — not to mention the diplomatic cover it gives the country on issues ranging from the Israeli nuclear arsenal (estimated at 200 bombs) to its continued and ever-expanding illegal occupation of Palestinian lands — Netanyahu felt he could snub his nose with impunity at the American president.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported this Monday on just how far the United States is willing to bend over backwards to prevent Netanyahu from forcing the Palestinians to abandon the peace talks as hopeless:
“Understanding Netanyahu’s political difficulties, Obama is proposing a basket of American assurances that would support Israel’s security demands concerning a final status agreement with the Palestinians, guarantee that the U.S. will not demand another settlement freeze extension, and thwart attempts to transfer direct peace talks to the UN Security Council. Obama is prepared to supply Israel with sophisticated weaponry, act to establish a regional security framework and support Netanyahu’s demand that IDF troops be deployed in the Jordan Valley for a long period. All this in exchange for a 60-day freeze.”
It seems that the United States’ “understanding” for Israel knows no bounds. Notwithstanding Israel’s failure to comply with Obama’s highly sweetened deal, last week the United States provided the only vote against a resolution that found “clear evidence” for legal action against Israel for its May 31 attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The raid resulted in the deaths of eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish- American. The report, produced by a panel of experts and almost totally ignored by the U.S. media, also found that six of the nine fatalities resulted from injuries “consistent with summary execution.” Among them was the Turkish-American killed in the incident, a fact that has produced almost no comment in the U.S. media or protest from the United States government. The report concludes that Israel broke international humanitarian and human rights law incurring crimes including “willful killing; torture or inhuman treatment; and willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health.”
A peace process mediated by a power (the United States) which systematically and massively favors one side (Israel) over the other — including providing the means for the favored side to fight its adversary — is dubious at best. It is unlikely to produce a fair, enduring agreement. The political conditions prevailing today in Israel and the United States make such a positive outcome even less likely. Peace between Israel and the Palestinians is desirable, conceivable, perhaps even achievable. Unfortunately, all signs point to the conclusion that the latest peace process will bear one more crop of bitter fruit.
