Israel - Obama's Dilemma

No-one in their right mind would think President Obama is looking forward to a direct confrontation with Israel, but things seem to be headed in that direction.

After recent discussions between the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, in which Obama made it plain that all West Bank settlement construction must cease, it would appear the Israeli Government is not prepared to play ball.

Since his return to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it clear they will stick to an agreement made with George W. Bush, i.e. that construction would be restricted to 'natural growth' in established settlements. This can be interpreted to mean; We will continue to build and expand all existing settlements, but we promise not to start any more!

Both sides of the argument are easy to understand. On the one hand, President Obama cannot be seen by the Arab World to be favouring the Israeli's, while on the other, any attempt by the Israel government to halt construction would mean their downfall, with perhaps even more serious repercussions.

You have to look a long way back in history to find the Israeli justification for the settlements. They say the West Bank and Gaza was their land two thousand years ago, which gives them the right to build. The fact that the land has belonged to the Palestinians since then is, in their eyes, irrelevant.

There is a comparison to Argentina claiming the Falkland Isles and Spain claiming Gibraltar from Britain, both of which were taken by the British three hundred years ago by conflict. In today's world you cannot claim something because it used to be yours centuries ago. I do not think the case for the Israeli settlers under those rules is acceptable.

The settlements first began some time after the 1967 Six-Day War with Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. For a time the Israeli Government would not allow settlements to be built, but this rule was relaxed and eventually it actively participated in the plan. With regard to the West Bank, religious Zionists claimed the lands of 'Judea and Samaria' (ancient Jewish lands) had finally been liberated, while the Government thought building the settlements would give them an extra bargaining chip at any future negotiations. For the Military, it was an opportunity to have a buffer zone between Israel and its Arab neighbours, Jordan and Syria.

On the accompanying UN map, the orange areas mark places in the West Bank that are restricted or forbidden for Palestinians. Many of the roads that service the Jewish communities have military roadblocks and are forbidden to local Palestinian people. Most of the world population is not aware of these measures taken by the Israeli's. You must also bear in mind that all the settlements, and the travel restrictions placed on the Palestinians, have been pronounced illegal by the United Nations and the International Courts of Justice under International Law.

President Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia today on an official visit, prior to giving what will probably be his most important speech so far. He will leave Saudi for Egypt where he will address the Arab World, and possibly the subject of Israel will come up. This speech is eagerly awaited by the whole Arab and Muslim World, and I am sure they will judge him, and his intentions, on it. Successive US presidents have tried to settle the thorny issue of the Israeli Palestinian conflict, but none have yet come up with the magic formula.

Whatever happens, the settlements will remain at the heart of the solution. One only has to look at a map of the West Bank showing their locations to realise that Israeli settlers have colonised much of the West Bank as far as the Jordanian border, and as some Jewish web sites record, a proportion of them are on land stolen from the Palestinians. There is no way you can justify this!

Ideally, all these towns and villages built by Israeli's in the West Bank must be torn down and their residents rehoused inside the 1967 borders of Israel. When you consider that in excess of half-a-million people now live in the occupied areas, it must seem impossible.

President Abbas of the West Bank Palestinians stated during his visit to Washington that he is no longer prepared to talk of peace until the building programme on the West Bank is halted. This seems a reasonable request considering how vast the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is and it's illegal status. Unfortunately for Obama, he must walk a tightrope between the two.

While he is reaching out to the Muslim world in a way no previous president ever has, he must be mindful he doesn't alienate the Jewish State, especially with Iran's nuclear ambitions in the mix, and the threat of an Israeli 'solution' to the problem.

So what is the answer to this half-century old problem? Could there in fact ever be a Palestinian State in co-existence with an Israeli State recognised by the Arab World? Personally, I think yes, but it will take many years and a lot of soul-searching and tough action by the Israeli Government.

In 2005 the Israeli Government removed all the settlements in the Gaza Strip by force and rehoused its citizens within it's borders. The same is possible logistically for the West Bank, but it would be a huge undertaking. Any who refused to be removed could have the right to become citizens of Palestine. One measure that could force many to leave would be the withdrawal of protection by the Israeli Armed Forces.

Of course there is also the option of the land of Israelistine being run by a joint Jewish/Palestinian government with Arabs and Jews living side by side in harmony. Now wouldn't that be a miracle!

Whatever happens, eventually common sense must prevail, and both sides will realise they cannot go through the rest of eternity at each others throats. Either that or the Iranians will solve the problem for them.

I wish President Obama success in his mission.

Roy.