Israel's Settlement Quandry

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 10, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

             Throwing a monkey wrench into Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East, Israel’s Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced plans to complete 1,600 more homes in East Jerusalem.  Biden hoped to restart discussions leading toward eventual peace talks for creating an independent Palestinian state.  Palestinians consider a settlement and building freeze a prerequisite to beginning a peace process, despite the fact that Palestinians remain divided between the West Bank’s Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas.  Hamas is still considered a terror organization by the U.S. State Department.  U.S. officials also know that Palestinians remain divided and peace talks can’t take place with half the Palestinian people.  Israel knows that Hamas won’t reconcile with the PA, is currently at war with Israel and doesn’t recognize its right to exist.

            Biden finds himself in the same position as the Bush administration that made no progress helping unify the two Palestinian factions.  “It’s incumbent on both parties to build an atmosphere of support for negotiations, and not to complicate them,” said Biden at a joint press conference with West Bank President Mahmoud Abbas.  Biden mentioned nothing about including Gaza’s Ismail Haniyeh into the discussions, since there can be no Palestinian state without reconciling Hamas and the PA.  Abbas knows he doesn’t speak for Hamas, and Hamas doesn’t speak for him.  He also knows that he’s not at liberty to negotiate a peace deal without reconciling with Hamas.  Blaming Israel for not suspending all building activity in the West Bank or Jerusalem totally ignores Palestinians’ essential prerequisite to future peace talks:  Unifying Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.   

            Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows there can be no discussions about peace talks until Palestinians resolve a unified peace partner.  He knows, as does Biden, that Abbas has no authority to negotiate on for Hamas, currently in control of the Gaza Strip and half the Palestinian population since seizing the area by force June 14, 2007.  While it’s true that Jewish settlements have been a sticking point for Palestinians, it’s also true that Abbas can’t speak for Hamas.  “This is a global message of American weakness and Israeli arrogance,” said Palestinian Authority lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi, forgetting that his West Bank government can’t speak for Hamas.  Abbas knows that the U.S. can’t impose a settlement between warring Palestinian factions.  He also knows that current Hamas leadership, based in Gaza and exiled in Damascus, has no interest in peace talks with Israel.

            U.S. and European officials pretend that they have a unified Palestinian peace partner with whom to negotiate starting peace talks.  Abbas likes to blame Israel for creating obstacles to peace talks when, in reality, he can’t make progress reconciling with Hamas.  Talking about Israel’s continued construction in West Bank doesn’t answer the more basic question of how Abbas plans to reconcile with Hanieyeh in Gaza.  Creating an artificial media flap over Israeli building plans doesn’t answer the basic question of how Abbas resolves the current rift with Hamas.  Palestinians blame the U.S. for not putting its foot down with Israel on settlement activity.  Abbas knows he can call the West Bank Palestinian lands but he has no legal claim.  Israel seized the territory as a spoil in the 1967 war.  There’s been no formal peace deal in which Israel agreed to swap land-for-peace.

            Instead of blaming Israel for failing to halt settlement activity in the West Bank, Abbas should be busy finding a way to unify Palestinians.  White House officials should remind Abbas that it’s fruitless to negotiate a peace deal with only half the Palestinian people.  As much as the U.S. and EU wish to deal only with Abbas, they have an equal obligation to deal with Hamas.  “We call on Israel to cancel these decisions,” said Abbas.  “I call on the Israeli government no to lose a chance to make peace.  I call on them to halt settlement building and to stop imposing facts on the ground,” not considering that any final settlement would involve, as the past, turning over Israeli construction projects.  Abbas calls on Israel to make peace but he must first make amends with Hamas and half the Palestinian population in Gaza.  Abbas must negotiate first with Haniyeh to start peace talks.

            Before the 22-nation Arab League or any other Palestinian ally gets rattled about Israel’s construction plans, they should broker a peace deal between Abbas and Haniyeh.  Threatening to withdraw support for an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan doesn’t deal with current civil war between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.  Focusing on Israeli construction activities is a smokescreen preventing the real work of reconciling Hamas the Palestinian Authority.  No one wants bad Israeli PR to spoil the prospects of Mideast peace.  All parties, especially Hamas and the PA, need to get back to the table and resolve their differences before Israel can get serious about halting anything. Netanyahu already agreed to slow settlement activity.  But he also knows there can be no real progress unless he has a legitimate peace partner with whom to negotiate.  Abbas and Haniyeh have to get back to work.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.