Obama Vows to Thwart Palestine

The United States offered Israel “rare incentives” in exchange for an extension of the decision to freeze settlement construction for two months, including a foiled attempt by Arabs pushing for recognition of the Palestinian state by the U.N. Security Council.

Washington has not succeeded, even now, in discouraging Tel Aviv from continuing its settlement policy, despite the “incentives” outlined in President Barack Obama’s letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which was disclosed on official Israeli radio.

Washington has sought, through its envoy George Mitchell, to extract a new settlement freeze for a period of two months, designed to “thwart the attempt by Arabs to bring the issue of the Palestinian state to the U.N. Security Council soon,”* in addition to “providing Israel with instruments of modern combat”* and “other security commitments.”*

As included in the incentives, Obama pledged to “prevent Palestinians from re-submitting the settlement issue separately from direct negotiations,”* a move aimed to seal its fate within a permanent settlement framework.

In terms of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, a new impasse in the “resumption” of Tel Aviv’s settlement activities has emerged, in which the Palestinians have entrenched themselves in the terms of its continuation.

With new settlement progress at a standstill, I hope that the Arab states and the West are successful in the negotiations and in the achievement of a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Adhering to the Palestinians’ stated conditions to continue negotiations, Obama went to the chief negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, who refused to “compromise settlement” in tune with President Mahmoud Abbas, who sees peace and settlement activities as mutually exclusive.

*Editor’s Note: These quotes, though accurately translated, could not be verified.