After decades of largely fruitless negotiations with Israel,
Palestine decided take a new approach of advancing their cause through the UN
and have successfully enhanced their status to a non-member observer state. The
Palestinian have realized that the path to peace cannot be reached by
negotiating with Israel, who have, for last 60 years, been the world’s leading
practitioners of salami tactics from the growth of kibbutz’s in the early
twentieth century, to the effective land grabs via the growth of settlements
and the use of deadly force.
Palestine has always been at a disadvantage in negotiations
due to the fact that Palestine is not a state and for the most part, doesn’t
have anything that Israel wants, except land. Add into the mix the U.S.
unwavering support of Israel despite this disparity; Palestinians have been
trapped in a constant cycle of conflict (which favours the stronger and well-funded
Israel) and peace talks that serve as the quintessential demonstrations of bad
faith negotiations. Israel have proved time and again that it has no interest
in peace or coming up with a logical solution to the conflict with its wickedly
disproportionate responses to defeatist rocket attacks by Hamas and its
constant expansion into the west bank via settlements.
If there was any need for proof of Israel’s lack of interest
in peace or logical solution, we would only have to observe Israel’s reaction to
Palestine’s enhanced status. In an act that can only be described as state
retribution for the Palestinian Authority abandoning the negotiation table,
Israel “seized more than $120m (£75m) in tax revenues it collects on the behalf
of the Palestinian authority”[1].
However Israel saved its most pernicious announcement for
last as it proposed it will “build 3,000 new homes in settlements across the
pre – 1967 Green line” but more importantly, Israel plan to “push ahead with
development of an area known as E1”
which will pretty much destroy the two state solution as the project “ would close off East Jerusalem – the intended future capital
of Palestine”[4] .
Israel plan to kill
the two state solution through further encroachment into the West Bank is counterproductive
and even drew the ‘condemnation’ of its
two foremost allies, the US and Britain[5].
The chances of their expansion plans bearing are almost certain to go ahead as
both Europe and the United States have done nothing to stop similar
encroachment into the West Bank.
A prime example of US impotence in stopping Israel settlement
expansions is the case of Har Homa
when “Condoleezza rice said in 2007 that
Har Homa should not be built. Five years later it is a fact on the ground”[6]. Israel’s most recent slice into the west Bank
will effectively kill peace as effectively there literally will be nothing to
talk about as the plan favoured by just about everybody is under serious threat
.
In sum, while it was a good move by the Palestinian authority
to further their cause through the UN, Israel threatens to make their effort
obsolete as they plan to effectively “concrete over the solution”[7].
[1] H.
Sherwood, 2012, Israel seizes $120m in Palestinian tax revenue over UN
statehood vote, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/02/israel-palestinian-tax-revenue-un-vote?intcmp=239
[2]
Ibid
[3]
Ibid
[4]
Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] The
Guardian, 2012, Israel-Palestine: concreting over the solution, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/03/israel-palestine-concreting-solution-editorial?intcmp=239
[7]
Ibid
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