A biweekly feature of news and opinion pieces from the Israeli and Palestinian press.
1.) Israeli analyst Daniel Levy notes that Condoleezza Rice’s recent visit to Israel did not lead to any progress on settlement issues. On the contrary: “The tarmac had barely cooled off from Secretary Rice’s departure earlier in the week and the Israeli government was already announcing plans to build 600 new apartments in the Givat Ze’ev settlement and the approval of 800 new units in Betar Illit,” Levy writes. “This news came in the wake of new construction plans for Har Homa in East Jerusalem and rumors that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was in negotiations with the settler leadership to simply relocate (rather than dismantle) the Migron outpost to a more convenient area in the West Bank.” Meanwhile, a new report released by Peace Now finds that over 1,900 new settlement houses are slated to be built in 2008.
2.) There is talk that Ehud Olmert may try to expand his shaky coalition with an invitation to the left-wing Meretz party. A Meretz official denied the rumors, however, noting that Olmert’s administration would have to be willing to adopt a much more liberal agenda and reject the demands of right-wing partners. “If we join the coalition, we will demand serious negotiations with the Palestinians, including on the issue of Jerusalem, and Shas would not be able to stand this,” he said. “We will also demand that Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann be dismissed, and this is also not likely to happen. Therefore, our joining the coalition is not currently an option. If Olmert makes a substantial move on the diplomatic front, he would enjoy Meretz’s support from the opposition anyway.”
3.) Israel and the United States are set to boycott an upcoming UN-sponsored conference on racism and xenophobia. The two countries are concerned that the occasion will become a forum for bashing Israel’s human rights record, as has happened in the past. The last of such conferences, held in Durban in 2001, was attended by many Arab representatives and resulted in widespread condemnations against the state of Israel. As Haaretz notes, “the attacks on Israel included accusations of apartheid, that Zionism is racism, and that the Holocaust is not a unique event but similar to other events in history.” For obvious reasons then, Israel (and its American ally) will stay away this time.
4.) In response to American pressure, Israel recently agreed to take down about 50 roadblocks in the West Bank. An editorial in The Jerusalem Post yesterday decries this latest action, arguing that it will actually undercut the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace:
It’s true that there are hundreds of checkpoints, roadblocks and barriers in the West Bank – and, yes, some have been set up since Annapolis. But wholesale, politically-inspired removal of such barriers doesn’t only risk Israeli lives. It is also acutely counterproductive to the rationale for doing away with them in the first place – promoting negotiations and bolstering Abbas.
If anything sabotages the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian accommodation, it’s attacks on Israeli civilians, wherever they may be. Thus moves – no matter how well-intentioned and theoretically desirable – whose unintended consequences facilitate terrorism are likely to torpedo whatever peace prospects still conceivably remain.
5.) Afif Safieh, the PLO’s representative in Washington, made a public call this week for Palestinians to adopt non-violence to resist the Israeli occupation. According to one media outlet, Safieh argued that “Israel would be less inclined to use its F-16s and Apache helicopters in repressing a non-violent Palestinian movement, which would in turn give America more of a reason to support [the Palestinians.]”
(Source: Foreign Policy Watch)