News From The Israeli And Palestinian Front: March 16th

As part of this biweekly feature, I’ll be presenting a slate of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press.

1.) The Syrians have been making a strong push to restart peace talks with the Israelis. Between 2004-2006, there had been unofficial, track two discussions between a prominent Syrian-American businessman and a former Israeli official; these negotiations made major progress towards a peace agreement, but ultimately fell through. Recently, however, Syrian officials have been signaling their desire to try again. Haaretz reports on rumors that Turkey is set to act as a mediator in a new round of talks. The Syrians have put forth several pre-negotiation demands, including that any Syrian-Israeli talks be made public and that Israel simultaneously hold discussions with both the Lebanese and the Palestinians.

2.) Bradley Burston, who is one of Haaretz’s best columnists, has written an op-ed laying out what he calls the “ten commandments” for participants in the Arab-Israeli conflict. His list includes, amongst others, “thou shalt not kill civilians,” “thou shalt not dismiss ceasefire proposals out of hand,” and “thou shalt act to restrain the renegades in your midst, terrorists, bigots, and bullies, whose actions betray your own people.”

3.) Following a much-criticized Israeli decision to build 750 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev, the European Union has demanded that the decision be reversed. Members of the European Council released a statement that suggested that “settlement activity prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution.”

4.) The United States has been engaged in an effort to train more than 1,000 Palestinian police officers affiliated with the Fatah-dominated National Security Forces. Unfortunately, questions about loyalty have plagued the success of the program. As Ynet News reports:

Weeks into the course, which began in late January, US and Jordanian instructors had yet to receive essential training equipment, including vehicles, two-way radios, dummy pistols, rifles and batons, and a US-designed curriculum, Americans with close knowledge of the program told The Washington Post. Because of Israeli concerns, the group has not been outfitted with pledged body armor or light-armored personnel carriers. The shortages and delays have forced US and Jordanian trainers to improvise their way through the program, including purchasing pistol-shaped cigarette lighters for use in arrest drills and using their own cars for driver training. One of the Americans told The Washington Post, “In short, we are faking it.”

5.) As part of the Bush administration’s goal of strengthening the Fatah-led government in the West Bank, American officials have been urging the Olmert administration to remove roadblocks, restrict settlement activity, and make other concessions. Recent reports, however, suggest that the Bush administration is frustrated with Israel’s “footdragging” on these issues. A senior Israeli official has said that “real tension has developed with the Americans, and if there are no steps on the ground [to improve the situation in the West Bank] we will find ourselves in big trouble.”

6.) Hezbollah is becoming increasingly visible in the West Bank. Historically, the Lebanese Shiite militant group has funneled money to groups like Hamas, but has had little direct presence in the Palestinian territories. But, since the assassination in Damascus last month of Hezbollah’s chief military officer, Imad Mughniyah, the group has been more active, perhaps in order to “make good on its threat” of revenge.

7.) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said recently that Israel is involved in an effort to “ethnically cleanse” Palestinians from East Jerusalem. In a speech to the Organization of the Islamic Conference this week, he said: “Our people in east Jerusalem face a plan for ethnic cleansing [as a result of] a series of Israeli decisions such as heavier taxes, building restrictions and the closing of Palestinian institutions, in addition to the city’s separation from the West Bank with the racist separation fence.”

(Source: Foreign Policy Watch)