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23.5.10

Zionism, Settlements, the Jewish State, and the Barrier: Security Fence or Apartheid Wall? (Part 1

Egypt’s failure to broker an effective reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah makes it a strong probability that the January elections will be considered illegitimate by the Palestinian people – that is, if they happen at all. Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) recently declared that the elections will be postponed pending more suitable national conditions. This, of course, renders the possibility of a virtual three state arrangement a viable reality for Israelis and Palestinians in the near future.


For a number of reasons, the speeches delivered this summer by Obama, Netanyahu, and Fayyad promised to bear fruit. Instead, they withered on the vine.


Fayyad’s recently declared two-year deadline for building a successful Palestinian state elicited questions regarding Abu Mazen’s legitimacy. Indeed, Mazen’s recent decision not to push the Goldstone report (consistent with the Obama administration’s wishes) coupled with his possible abdication from leadership in the West Bank, has created serious doubts over the future of Palestine.

While Israel made a few minor moves to improve conditions in the West Bank, they have not lead to a fundamental change in the basic barriers that continue to block progress. These efforts include Israel's commitment to halt incursions into four major West Bank cities this summer, enabling the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to gain better control over the security situation in the West Bank, and Israel's recent Supreme Court decision prohibiting the Jewish-only status of at least one major artery in the West Bank. Nevertheless, Israel’s continued consolidation of ‘facts on the ground’ vitiates against a mutually accepted Palestinian state and thus, the resumption of the peace process.

PNA authorities continue to call for a check to settlements as a precondition for peace talks, while Netanyahu’s government is fixed on “economic peace” as a precursor to political peace and final status negotiations. Lately, settlements and “natural growth” figure prominently in the international news media’s coverage of the conflict, but many argue that the settlement issue has become a popular red herring that diverts attention away from the peace process itself since land-for-peace agreements are reiterated throughout numerous previous near-agreements and accords.

The EU’s statement this summer issued by outgoing High Representative Solana - that the UN would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state if the peace process does not resume - may or may not have teeth or represent popular European sentiment. Lieberman, among others, responded that ‘peace must be built, not imposed.’ Shaul Mofaz, a former Likud defense minister, suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on 60% of the West Bank. But Netanyahu's government is perhaps the most rightwing in Israel's history and it seems to prefer managing the conflict over resolving it.

Meanwhile, the international community’s pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel factions and loyalties are increasingly characterized by mutual animus and contempt rather than mutual respect and dignity. The polarization between the Diasporas is also widening as a growing chorus of still marginal movements call for the boycott, divestment, and sanction of Israel. ‘Israeli Apartheid Weeks’ are encroaching on many university campuses, The result is that acts of dialogue in the Diasporas, let alone a détente between Israelis and Palestinians, remains as rare and remote as ever.

I witnessed first hand many of the competing narratives and competing ‘truths’ of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this summer while interning with the Multilateral Sector of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among the most salient points of discussion on both sides of the Barrier (also the “security fence” and “apartheid wall”) are East Jerusalem, the right of return, settlement expansion, the continued Israeli military presence in the West Bank and their legitimate ever-present security concerns - not to mention the relationship between the Jewish state and Eretz Israel, and how they reflect Israeli democracy.

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