Image ‘Copyleft’ by Carlos Latuff
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Eirekat lashed out at Israel for deciding on Sunday to annex large parts of the Jordan valley, (which makes up 25% of the West Bank), calling the Israeli measure “the ultimate antithesis of peace.”
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Eirekat’s belated admission
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From Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Palestine
With frustration and anger clear in the tone of his voice, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Eirekat admitted on Monday that “peace talks” with Israel were going nowhere due to “Israel’s recalcitrant refusal” to end her military occupation that started in 1967. Speaking in Ramallah, a visibly disillusioned Eirekat said the Palestinian Authority (PA) should immediately resume efforts to join international organizations and obtain recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967-borders. Under American pressure, the PA leadership agreed in September to suspend a diplomatic drive to gain recognition and obtain membership at various world bodies. Eirekat lashed out at Israel for deciding on Sunday to annex large parts of the Jordan valley, (which makes up 25% of the West Bank), calling the Israeli measure “the ultimate antithesis of peace.” “Israel is proving to everyone that it is absolutely unconcerned for reaching the two-state solution. Moreover, this government of Binyamin Netanyahu is simply transforming its repulsive occupation into annexation” Israel, under the rubric of peace talks with the PA, seized large parts of the West Bank. * * Similarly, Israel has been speeding up construction of Jewish colonies, which most pundits believe has effectively decapitated any remaining chance for the establishment of a viable and territorially-contiguous Palestinian state worthy of the name. Hamas and other Palestinian political factions as well as non-conformist Fatah leaders had warned the PA leadership against entering in open-ended talks with Israel in the absence of real guarantees, especially from Israel’s guardian-ally, the United States. However, the PA, which depends for its financial survival on politically-driven aid by western powers and oil-rich Arab sheikhdoms in the Arabian Gulf, refused to say “No” to the Americans. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to arrive in Occupied Palestine later this week to push the seemingly futile talks forward. However, with the extreme right-wing government of Benyamin Netanyahu in power, and with the Israeli Jewish society drifting to religious fanaticism and national jingoism, it seems the American official has a little chance of making any real breakthrough. Added to this is the ever-dwindling American ability to exert any meaningful pressure on Israel due to the powerful influence of the American Jewish lobby on American political life and institutions, especially Congress. The increasingly apparent failure and possible collapse of the peace process in Palestine is likely to force many Palestinians to demand the “one-state solution” whereby they conceivably would acquire citizenship in a bi-national state extending from the Mediterranean to the River Jordan. However, Israel is utterly unlikely to accept this scenario as its Jewish Zionist identity would be seriously compromised with the inclusion of more than five million non-Jews to Israel’s population. It is widely believed that the Arab population west of the river Jordan already exceeds the number of Jews, although Israeli officials wouldn’t admit that. However, with the extreme right-wing government of Benyamin Netanyahu in power, and with the Israeli Jewish society drifting to religious fanaticism and national jingoism, it seems the American official has a little chance of making any real breakthrough. Added to this is the ever-dwindling American ability to exert any meaningful pressure on Israel due to the powerful influence of the American Jewish lobby on American political life and institutions, especially Congress. The increasingly apparent failure and possible collapse of the peace process in Palestine is likely to force many Palestinians to demand the “one-state solution” whereby they conceivably would acquire citizenship in a bi-national state extending from the Mediterranean to the River Jordan. However, Israel is utterly unlikely to accept this scenario as its Jewish Zionist identity would be seriously compromised with the inclusion of more than five million non-Jews to Israel’s population. It is widely believed that the Arab population west of the river Jordan already exceeds the number of Jews, although Israeli officials wouldn’t admit that. |
Desertpeace 