The New President’s First Challenge

Although the Security Council failed to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate crucial stop of aggression against Gaza and simply recommend a cease-fire, Israeli government leaders are competing with each other on their impact behind-the-scenes in the Security Council aiming to get this resolution, which killed the Arab efforts inseeking a resolution stop the aggression and accusing Israel of all consequences.

Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister obtained after an urgent phone call from Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of the United States that Washington will not allow any anti-Israel resolution in the Security Council and will wave the U.S. veto against any suggestion of the like.

But the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, refused to accept the Israeli Secretary of State’s statements (and his heir to the upcoming Kadima’s presidency), and declared a statement saying that he personally called president George W. Bush and asked him to make sure of Condoleezza Rice’s reactions, stressing that she must not allow any decision against Israel. Bush informed Rice to wave the veto against any resolution against every suggestion that denounces Israel. Rice, however, rebelled against Bush’s instructions and abstained to vote!!

Tzipi Livni said she did not travel to New York to attend deliberations or complaints made by her so as not to contribute to the recognition of the expected decision’s legality, and she added that Condoleezza Rice promised her – but deceived President George W. Bush and the Israeli government when she abstained from using the veto objection.

Before ink gets dry upon the statements’ made by Olmert and Livni, George Bush and the Secretary of State were “thankful” to the reverential words contained in Olmert’s and Livni’s statements. Also, Bush said he did not say to Olmert that he must be committed to the orders. Condoleezza Rice: “The statements of Olmert and Livni are 100% incorrect.

But such statements were very useful, especially in unveiling to all parties concerned in the United States and all nations of the world – that the Israeli government’s guilt is the same one that shook the napping lion in the White House.

The first question that comes to our mind these days is why Olmert has decided to kiss George W. Bush goodbye onn the eve of leaving the White House with such a humiliating scandal? Why?

Is it a bullying attempt in the face of the new U.S. president, Barack Obama, at the hand of the Israeli Government? Mostly, this probability is not a fantasy. On top of Capital Hill” in Washington, D.C., where the first Israeli embassy is located in the United States, members of the Congress and the Senate voted to renew their absolute loyalty to Israel in an attempt to show the new administration in the White House that all representatives in the United States do not feel the need to shift from supporting Israel and tracing its instructions.

The first question to be answered then is- Will Barack Obama swallow this challenge and succumb to it, or will he rebel against the dictations from the beginning?

There are promising signs that Barack Obama intends not to bow in front of Israeli pressure. Before settling into the White House, the president’s crew declared that the United States government intends to reduce the value of financial guarantees given to the Government of Israel subtracting amount not less than one billion dollars as punishment to the Israeli government’s laziness controlling illegal settlements building which it promised to control in the recent years, on the contrary, it encouraged and financed building settlements. Will the United States execute such step or it is just warning the Israeli government not to continue its injustices which pull the United States to an endless muddy swamps.

There is no doubt that we live today in a transitional stage whereby we may be turn towards the exit from the bottom, but what we need now is -and above all- a Palestinian unit, backed up by most of the Arab countries in order to encourage forces of good worldwide, and -in the White House- as they have an interest in cooperating with us to go out from state of despair to one of hope.