When the Israeli Foreign Minister says his party will do everything in its power to block the slowdown in illegal settlement construction, the current “peace process” is already dead in the water.
Throughout their political careers, neither the Foreign Minister nor the Prime Minister of Israel have ever displayed the slightest interest in making a deal with the Palestinians. The parties they represent in the Knesset will not allow them to halt settlement construction. This is spun by these Israeli politicians into a concern about “security”, allowing the current Israeli government to pursue precisely the same approach to peace that is displayed by Hamas.
The US cannot be an honest broker for peace until and unless there is a willingness to exact a price from the Israelis for their continued intransigence and a willingness to deal with Hamas as a legitimate representative of the Palestinians. There is no political support in the US for doing anything against Israel and uncertain political support within the Palestinian community for the “two state solution”.
So the dance of the peace fairies continues.
Dramatic gestures are needed from the Administration, such as a referendum asking Palestinians once and for all to support two states, bilateral talks with Iran to address the nuclear issue and Hamas to address the peace process, a summit of Arab leaders to recognize the state of Israel, and a willingness to substantially reduce foreign aid to Israel if their intransigence about settlements, Jerusalem, etc. continues.
Given the Administration’s historical preference to avoid confrontation on far more important issues, like the fate of the US economy, this round of “talks” will be as fruitless as all the others since 1978 have been.
Gorilla says: “If you don’t put up, you might as well shut up!”
