Middle East peace talk
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
ISRAEL is totally dependent on America but the irony is that it is Tel Aviv which has so long been calling the tune when Washington makes any decision concerning the Middle East. It looks like the rule of the game may change this time around on the question of jump-starting the stalled negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel for reaching a comprehensive two-state peace settlement. The negotiations have been on hold since the end of 2008 when Israel mounted an armed offensive in the Gaza Strip on the plea of punishing the Hamas. The quartet of the USA, Russia, European Union and the United Nations (EU) on the Middle East has been pressing the Palestinian Authority and Israel to return to the negotiating table, but to little effect.
In his June 4, 2009 Cairo speech, President Barack Obama raised hopes for an expeditious resumption of the Middle East peace process. He listed "the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world", after "violent extremists" of al-Qaeda varieties, as the "second major source of tension". He declared his intention to "personally pursue" the goal of Middle East peace. He did appoint former US Senator George Mitchell as the Special Envoy to the Middle East but no tangible progress took place on the ground for about a year.
The US finally took an initiative to break the stalemate and both the Palestinian Authority and Israel agreed to hold indirect "proximity talks" with George Mitchell. Mitchell announced the talks on March 8. Within two days, Israel announced the plan for constructing 1600 more settler homes in the occupied East Jerusalem. It was a slap on Washington on three counts. First, in response to Israeli action, the Palestinian Authority withdrew from the "proximity talks" until Israel cancels the new construction scheme. The very prospect of holding the talks became uncertain. Secondly, US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Tel Aviv when Israel made the construction announcement. It was a diplomatic affront. Last but not the least, this was a direct challenge to the Obama administration. Obama made a categorical statement in his Cairo speech. He said, "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement."
Israeli action provoked a 10-day public quarrelling between Washington and Tel Aviv which has apparently subsided now. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton subjected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a 45-minute tongue-lashing on March 12. Netanyahu called back Hillary on March 18, promising to take confidence-building measures to resume the negotiating track. The quartet on the Middle East met in Moscow on March 19, unanimously condemned the Israeli action and stressed the urgency of resuming peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Netanyahu is visiting Washington from Sunday to plead the case of Israel.
Meanwhile, a very significant development has taken place in Washington. The Israel lobby is so powerful in America that since 1975 five American presidents, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, who clashed with Israel on certain issues had to eventually toe the Israeli line. There is only one entity in America which wields more influence with the White House and the Capitol Hill than the Israel lobby. It's Pentagon. Pentagon has of late embraced a view that the Arab-Israel conflict is a US security concern: "The conflict foments anti-American sentiment due to a perception of US favouritism for Israel." Backed by Pentagon, the Obama administration has possibly gathered enough courage to beat the intransigence of Israel in America's own security interest. Hillary Clinton maintains hardening the tone with Israel has served the purpose and she is hopeful that "we are going to see the resumption of the negotiating track, and that means that is paying off, because that is our goal." Mitchell, along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, is back to the Middle East to do the necessary spade work.
In his June 4, 2009 Cairo speech, President Barack Obama raised hopes for an expeditious resumption of the Middle East peace process. He listed "the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world", after "violent extremists" of al-Qaeda varieties, as the "second major source of tension". He declared his intention to "personally pursue" the goal of Middle East peace. He did appoint former US Senator George Mitchell as the Special Envoy to the Middle East but no tangible progress took place on the ground for about a year.
The US finally took an initiative to break the stalemate and both the Palestinian Authority and Israel agreed to hold indirect "proximity talks" with George Mitchell. Mitchell announced the talks on March 8. Within two days, Israel announced the plan for constructing 1600 more settler homes in the occupied East Jerusalem. It was a slap on Washington on three counts. First, in response to Israeli action, the Palestinian Authority withdrew from the "proximity talks" until Israel cancels the new construction scheme. The very prospect of holding the talks became uncertain. Secondly, US Vice President Joe Biden was visiting Tel Aviv when Israel made the construction announcement. It was a diplomatic affront. Last but not the least, this was a direct challenge to the Obama administration. Obama made a categorical statement in his Cairo speech. He said, "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement."
Israeli action provoked a 10-day public quarrelling between Washington and Tel Aviv which has apparently subsided now. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton subjected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a 45-minute tongue-lashing on March 12. Netanyahu called back Hillary on March 18, promising to take confidence-building measures to resume the negotiating track. The quartet on the Middle East met in Moscow on March 19, unanimously condemned the Israeli action and stressed the urgency of resuming peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Netanyahu is visiting Washington from Sunday to plead the case of Israel.
Meanwhile, a very significant development has taken place in Washington. The Israel lobby is so powerful in America that since 1975 five American presidents, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, who clashed with Israel on certain issues had to eventually toe the Israeli line. There is only one entity in America which wields more influence with the White House and the Capitol Hill than the Israel lobby. It's Pentagon. Pentagon has of late embraced a view that the Arab-Israel conflict is a US security concern: "The conflict foments anti-American sentiment due to a perception of US favouritism for Israel." Backed by Pentagon, the Obama administration has possibly gathered enough courage to beat the intransigence of Israel in America's own security interest. Hillary Clinton maintains hardening the tone with Israel has served the purpose and she is hopeful that "we are going to see the resumption of the negotiating track, and that means that is paying off, because that is our goal." Mitchell, along with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, is back to the Middle East to do the necessary spade work.