News From the Israeli and Palestinian Front: March 30th

A biweekly feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press.

1.) Political analyst Daniel Levy notes that Israel continues to drag its feet on dismantling illegal outposts. Unlike settlements, which are authorized by the Israeli authorities, outposts are illegal under Israeli law. Nonetheless, in an effort to increase the number of settlers in the West Bank, subsequent Israeli governments have turned a blind eye to outpost construction. While decrying it as illegal, Levy writes, “the government provides water and electricity links, security, IDF, and often even road access—but no formal approval—outposts are not official policy, heaven forbid.”

This kind of tacit support for outpost construction has caused problems for Israel; under the Road Map and in commitments reached during the recent Annapolis Conference, the Israeli government has an obligation to dismantle existing outposts (which now number over 100). Foot-dragging is the name of the game, however. This week, Defense Minister Ehud Olmert agreed to authorize moving the Migron outpost five kilometers to the west, where it would be situated next to the settlement of Neve Ya’akov. But, as Levy argues, this is not much of a compromise since “new Palestinian land would be taken up by the relocation” and the “net effect on the settler population” would be zero.

2.) Although there had been rumors that they might rescind the offer, Arab countries this week re-endorsed their 2002 peace proposal towards Israel. Under the original proposal, Israel would withdraw to the 1967 borders, divide Jerusalem equitably, and deal with the Palestinian refugee issue in exchange for normalization of relations with all of the region’s Arab nations. According to Haaretz, last-minute lobbying by Mahmoud Abbas helped to ensure that the offer was not rescinded.

3.) Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced yesterday that peace negotiations with Syria are a central goal of his country’s foreign policy. His comments come amidst rising interest in Israeli-Syrian negotiations, with officials from both countries making encouraging statements in recent days. Israeli Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, for example, told Israel Radio this week that “all efforts are being made to bring Syria to the negotiating table in order to sign a peace treaty.” He noted, additionally, that the Olmert government is aware of the price: “We know exactly what the price would be – namely, Israel’s return of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau captured from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War.”

4.) The controversial leader of Israel’s Yisrael Beiteinu party has written an op-ed for Haaretz arguing that the Knesset’s Arab parliamentarians have repeatedly shown disloyalty to the state in which they live.

There is no need to remind ourselves of the events of October 2000, nor of the Or Commission that investigated them, which concluded that, “there are solid grounds for asserting that the messages [of the Arab leadership] … contributed substantially to the events that occurred in October 2000, through the encouragement and incitement of the public to adopt an aggressive, confrontational stand against the state and the police force acting on its behalf to maintain law and order.”

…The only demand that can and should be made of Israel’s citizens – whether Jewish, Muslim or Christian – is that they be loyal to the state and its values as a Jewish state. Just as the Jews of Morocco are loyal to its king, Israel’s minority groups must be loyal to the state they live in. I am not advocating the silencing of protest or any infringement of freedom of expression; however, legitimate protest must be distinguished from the abuse of democracy.

5.) A new study has found that left-wing Israeli governments have historically pursued policies that are better for Jewish settlers than have right-wing governments. According to Ynet News, “the study found that where as rightist governments can make territorial concessions, left-wing governments cannot afford to take such action.“