New Israeli Settlements in Jerusalem
Israel stated yesterday that more than 900 units will be built in one of its settlements in East Jerusalem. Britain, France and the United States criticized the decision and considered it an obstacle in the way of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
President Obama said that such an action will not make Israel safer and may result in a serious and dangerous Palestinian frustration.
The Palestinian leadership continues to invite more states from around the world to support its decision to declare a Palestinian state form the United Nations. Khalid Meshal, the head of Hamas office stated that a declaration of a Palestinian state will only be an escape from the last political failure which the Palestinian leadership got after eighteen years of negotiations. According to Meshal the Palestinians should be putting their efforts in “resistance” rather than searching for other failing political methods.
President Mubarak stated that the Palestinians must not return to negotiations with Israel without an Israeli decision to stop the settlements and a consideration of the achievements which President Abbas reached with Olmert. President Mahmoud Abbas stated that his administration decision to declare a Palestinian state is supported by the Arab states.
Britain, France and the United States did not like such an idea and stated that they prefer negotiations between the two sides. However, the situation seems to be different from public statements. A tense is felt between the American administration and Abbas since his last statement which he declared in hat he will not run for the next presidential elections. The new American administration promised the Arab world and Mahmoud Abbas with a serious change in order to make an improvement in the peace process between Israel and the Arab world. The result was not similar to the promises since nothing was achieved since Netanyahu became the prime minister of Israel.
Settlements are still built all around Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel refuses to compromise regarding Jerusalem and the settlements which are already built in the West Bank.
President Mahmoud Abbas faced a hard time since Goldstone’s incident and is now sure that the promise to push Israel into serious negotiations will not be fulfilled. The Internal situation in the Palestinian territories is developing everyday because of the competition between Hamas and Fatah. Elections are supposed to be made next year and neither of them wants to reach this day without gaining as much support from the people as they can.
The instability inside the Palestinian community and the Israeli policy of ignoring the Peace process will bring dangerous results for both sides. Israel has been preparing itself since the last war on Gaza for the next confrontation. The Israeli army is trained day and night at the north while the Israeli political leadership is trying to get more support for any possible war by convincing the world that Hamas is developing rockets in Gaza and Hezbullah are smuggling weapons and missiles everyday into Beirut.
The Israeli leadership is far away from any peace strategy since it is completely relying on military strategies. The Israeli leadership steps fulfill the strategy of directing a conflict in a great way. The United States can never reach a serious disagreement with Israel because of the shared interests between the two sides. Although the Iranian issue demands from the United States to reach a good relation with the Arab world, Israel stays in the first place.
So the question which everyone keeps on asking is what will happen and where does this conflict end. The answer to this question has never been found although many tried and are still trying to find it by studying the obstacles which are preventing both sides from reaching an agreement. Some may say that Israel is completely controlling and can decide whether to make peace or not while others may disagree.
Despite all the trouble and the dangerous situation between the two sides I do believe that the situation today completely differs from the situation forty years ago. Israel today knows very well that there is a people called Palestinian which includes scientists, poets, lawyers, academics, politicians, a culture, a nationality and a determined will to live in a state of its own. No one can deny this fact since today it is a reality. Therefore I do believe that there is a kind of balance which gives hope that one day everything will change.
Sphere: Related Content
Loading ...