The new round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority aimed at resolving their long-lasting conflict has reached a critical point. A freeze, or moratorium, on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank expired on September 26. The issue of settlements is overshadowing all others in the first such direct talks in nearly two years. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had said that the ten-month freeze, which had been put in place as a gesture to encourage Palestinians to resume negotiations, would end on schedule. Netanyahu urged Jewish settlers to “show restraint and responsibility” and appealed to the Palestinians not to quit the peace negotiations.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas had urged Israel numerous times to extend the moratorium as a condition for the Palestinians to stay in negotiations. The Obama administration, which opposes the building of more Jewish settlements, had also called on Israel not to let the freeze expire. Meanwhile, frantic diplomatic efforts are under way, including a mission by the U.S. special representative to the Middle East George J. Mitchell.
Abbas planned to consult with other Arab leaders, most of whom have said in the past that settlement building and peacemaking cannot go together. Some Israeli advisers suggest that construction be limited to those particular settlements that are expected to be a part of Israel in any eventual two-state solution (that is, those likely to remain in Israeli hands in exchange for land elsewhere for the Palestinian state). However, the precise borders of a potential Palestinian state are yet to be agreed upon.
Related Links
- U.S. Scrambling to Save Talks on Middle East
This article reports on the urgent attempts to salvage the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations despite the controversy over Jewish settlements; includes a video “Israeli Settlement Building to Resume.”
(Source: New York Times, September 26, 2010) - Mitchell Heads Back to Middle East to Deal with Settlements “Dilemma”
This article discusses “emergency” diplomatic efforts related to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, focusing on those led by U.S. envoy George Mitchell.
(Source: VOA News, September 27, 2010) - Abbas Urges Settlement Freeze Extension
This transcript of a broadcast radio story examines the Jewish settlement freeze; includes links to earlier stories on the recent Middle East peace talks.
(Source: Theworld.org, September 27, 2010)
Other Issues in the Region
Population Relocation
Expanding economies in the Middle East have led some countries in the region to rely on “guest workers” from other countries. While many guest workers are unskilled laborers, some take skilled positions in oil or high-tech industries. The presence of so many guest workers can lead to culture clashes. The workers face complicated employment laws, and sometimes live or work in unsafe conditions. They can also become the target of terrorists whose agenda includes removing foreign influences from their countries.
- Vatican expert draws attention to high levels of Christian immigration in Middle East
Analyzing the changed religious scenery” of the Arabian Peninsula, a Vatican scholar describes it as a paradox that the land that gave birth to Islam is witnessing a rise in Christianity. The increase is not due to conversion, which is generally illegal, but to massive migration from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, the Philippines, Africa and South America due largely to the oil boom in the Gulf countries. (EWTN News, June 22, 2010)
Oil Wealth Fuels Change
Oil fuels the world’s industries and transportation—and its economies. Oil became a valuable strategic commodity, a resource so important that nations will go to war to ensure its steady supply. Southwest Asia contains much of the world’s oil supply, but oil prices rise and fall unpredictably. As a result, Southwest Asian countries cannot always plan how much revenue oil will bring in.
Economic development requires diversification—the development of multiple sectors of an economy, such as agriculture, mining, and technology. The countries of Southwest Asia are also investing oil profits in building and improving other infrastructure essentials, such as roads and telecommunications. Moreover, there is an awareness of the need to provide education, since economic development requires the knowledge and skills of a well-trained and well-informed workforce and citizenry.
Conflict over Land
Conflicts between Jews and Arabs over land controlled by Israel continue to disrupt life in the region. The Palestinian people living in Israel are seeking their own autonomous nation. The signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians suggested that the two sides could achieve a permanent peace. But by the early 21st century, violence had spiked once again. In August of last year, Israel pulled all of its settlers out of the Gaza Strip region. Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, and since then it has been a major point of contention between Israelis and the Palestinians who live there and insist the land is theirs. In January of 2006, the Hamas Party was elected into power in the Palestinian Territories.
- Clinton, Netanyahu Offer Differing Views of Settlements Dispute
Israel’s recent announcement to keep developing housing in East Jerusalem has revealed some cracks in its bilateral relationship with the United States. Because East Jerusalem is the part of the city Palestinians want for a future capital, an aggressive land policy there on the part of Israel angers Palestinians.
(Source: VOA News, March 23, 2010)
The question of whtheer the relationship between Israel and Palestinians is one of oppression or one of conflict, is a critical question.There is no question in my mind that there are elements of both. To declare that the relationship is only an oppression is to misrepresent what is going on there.There are two ways the issue is not simplistic.One is that as Ralph referred, there is a long long long history of one stimuli (say from 1920), evoking a response (in 1921), which then evokes another response the other way in 1922, etc. ad infinitum, hotter at some times, quieter at others. Everyone says that the other started it.In a circle.The second is of the geography. If one looks at only one scale, Palestine is surrounded by Israel. There are only borders with Israel and Jordan, and Israel jointly controls the Jordan boundaries.But, at a slightly larger scale, Israel is surrounded by Arab states. Until 1979, they were entirely surrounded, and with a great deal of animosity. Now that there are treaties in place with Jordan and Egypt, and cooperation on security with the PA, that logic is diminished. But, at the same time, the experience of Iraq firing missiles at Tel Aviv in the fist Gulf War, even though Israel was not a party to the conflict, adds weight to the importance of Iran being able to repeat that (with either active nuclear missiles in the future, or merely with nuclear waste now)., multiplied by their near-proxy relationship with Hezbollah possessing tens of thousands of large rockets all aimed at Israeli cities as a hostage.The statement that Israel surrounds Palestine is partially true. Not perfectly true, not perfectly false, and the statement that Israel oppresses Palestine is also partially true, not perfectly true, and not perfectly false.How does one change a conflict? (Maybe with intervention to get everyone’s attention, but ultimately with mediation, not with revolution.)