Obama and Netanyahu Mend Fences

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 6, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

            President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke bread at the White House, dismissing claims that the relationship was the most troubled in 30 years.  Miscues by Israel March 6 during a peace mission by Vice President Joe Biden led to chilled relations.  Biden took umbrage over Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yashai’s announcement that Israel would build 1,600 residential units in East Jerusalem—the desired capital of a future Palestinian State.  U.S.-Israeli relations hit a recent low when Israeli commandos boarded a Cypress-based-Turkish-sponsored relief boat bound for Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 11 so-called peace activists.  When Egypt announced plans to relax its border crossing with Gaza, Netanyahu consented to a partial end to the Israeli embargo.  Israel’s embargo began June 14, 2007 when Hamas seized the Gaza Strip for the Palestinian Authority.

            No U.S. president in modern history gave Israel more latitude and support than former President George W. Bush.  In the wake of Sept. 11, Bush coordinated antiterrorism efforts closely with Israel, a country far more familiar with Islamic terrorism than the U.S.  For his eight years in office, Bush supported Israel’s wars against Hezbollah and Hamas, viewing both a terror group.  Despite winning monitored parliamentary elections Jan. 28, 2005, Hamas was never recognized by the State Department, eventually resulting in the 2007 Gaza coup.  “The United States is committed to Israel’s security,” Obama told reporters at the Oval Office.  “We are committed to that special bond.  And we are going to do what’s required to back that up, not just with words but with actions,” reassuring Netanyahu that resuming the peace process won’t compromise Israel’s security.

            Since Biden’s March trip to Israel, U.S.-Israeli relations have been tense but exaggerated by the right wing media.  With midterm elections in November, Obama wants to get pro-Israel voters back in the Democratic camp.  Fighting with Israel does little to advance the peace process, since Israel is expected to make most the concessions for an eventual Palestinian state.  “There’s a depth and richness of this relationship that is expressed every day,” said Netanyahu, professing his support for peace talks.  “We’re committed to that peace.  I’m committed to that peace,” denying as “flat wrong” that U.S.-Israeli relations hit rock-bottom.  Loosening the Gaza blockade comes at a time when Israel’s public image needs urgent rehab.  Mideast peacemaking is also a good diversion away from Obama’s domestic problems, especially the sluggish economy and endless oil spill.

            Palestinians used the May 31 Gaza blockade debacle to highlight the economic misery in the tiny seaside territory.  Palestinians want to ship all the blame to Israel when, in fact, it’s more related to their ongoing civil war.  Since Hamas seized Gaza June 14, 2007, Gaza’s leader Ismail Haniyeh has refused to negotiate Palestinian unity with West Bank Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.  Since PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat’s death Nov. 11, 2004, Abbas has been the U.S. peace-partner.   After Sept. 11, Bush refused to deal with Arafat because of his close ties to various terror groups, especially Hamas.  Abbas became a strong U.S. ally and would have made more progress had Hamas not divided the Palestinian people.  Abbas wants peace but gets his walking orders from Hamas, insisting on impossible conditions, including Palestinians right of return to Israel. 

            Ending the blockade, if nothing else, softens Haniyeh’s stand on opening up peace talks with Israel.  To date, Hamas has not supported any of Arafat’s past peace agreements, including the Former President Jimmy Carter’s 1978 Camp David Accords or former President Bill Clinton’s 1993 Oslo Accords, where Israeli and Palestinians set the framework for a future Palestinian state.  Hamas, at least on paper, continues to call for Israel’s destruction and accepts no prior peace deals.  “We want to resume direct negotiations, but the problem is that the land that is supposed to be a Palestinian state is being eaten up by settlements,” said Palestinian Authority negotiator and former Arafat aid Saeb Erekat, forgetting that the Palestinians occupy Israel spoils of the 1967 Six-Day War.  Netanyahu’s government wants to return to the bargaining table but not with Palestinian preconditions. 

            Israeli and Palestinian officials need to jettison preconditions and get back to the bargaining table to start the peace process.  Setting precondition, or, for that matter, expecting the White House to impose them, is unrealistic.  Abbas must do a better job of ending his civil war with Hamas before real progress can start.  Erekat said a halt to Israeli construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem “are not conditions, these are obligations” yet he’s not in a position to call the shots or make unrealistic demands.  Only both sides starting fresh can make real progress.  Neither Israeli’s conservative government nor Hamas-dominated Palestinians can make progress.  For the U.S. to serve as an eventual impartial broker, the State Dept. must insist that (a) Hamas reconcile with the Palestinians Authority and (b) both sides start fresh.  Only then can a real peace process start over.

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.