By:Jamal Kanj*
September
29, 2011
The Middle East Peace Quartet which comprises of the UN,
US, European Union and Russia
just received a slap in the face from their spoiled progeny, otherwise known as
Israel.
On 27th September, the Israeli government announced plans to undermine
the peace process by building 1100 new Jewish only units in occupied East Jerusalem.
Despite
continued Israeli intransigence and blatant violation of its own agreements, UN
Security Council resolutions and the 4th Geneva Convention calling
on occupying powers not to “… transfer parts of its own civilian population
into occupied territory (Art.49),” yet, the US and its submissive European
Union have asked again the Palestinians to return, unconditionally, to an open
ended negotiation exercise with Israel.
“Unconditionally”
is by itself an Israeli condition on Palestinians to abandon previously
negotiated understandings with various Israeli governments, set-aside
international law, and submit to Israel’s diktat on peace talks.
This
is invariable with Israel’s
history of inventing linguistic sophistry whereby its “condition” becomes
“unconditional,” “natural growth” a euphemism for expansion of illegal
settlements and “secure border” to justify occupation.
Setting
“conditions” on peace talks have always been an Israeli tactic to accomplish
the most before even talking, and then drag negotiations perpetually to “avoid
the inevitable.”
Israeli
“conditions” were first established in 1975 when a Zionist US Secretary of
State, Henry Kissinger enticing Israel to agree on peace talk with Egypt,
promised Israel on behalf of the US government, not to talk with the
Palestinians unless the PLO recognizes Israel and UN resolutions 338 and
242.
Mind you that Israel was not
asked to recognize the Palestinians and it never abided by the two referenced
UN resolutions.
Despite
PLO acceptance of US “conditions” in 1988, Israel
refused to recognize the PLO, and agreed to participate in the 1991 Madrid
peace round only if Palestinians were represented by a joint
Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. The US
acquiesced “again” and coerced the PLO to concede to Israel’s new demand.
In 1993 the Labor Israeli government
and the PLO signed the Oslo understanding,
whereby the PLO reaffirmed “again” its recognition of Israel and
renounced its armed struggle “terrorism” to achieve political goals. The signed
Oslo document
called for "permanent status negotiations" to start before May 1996.
Ignoring
the time frame set by the Oslo understanding, a
new Israeli Likud government headed by the current Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu inserted a new “condition” in 1997: the PLO must first annul
the Palestinian national charter calling for democratic non sectarian state in Palestine.
The US compelled the
Palestinians to accept the new Israeli “condition” and without any reciprocal
commitment from Israel, the
PLO convened in December 1998 the Palestine National Council in Gaza under the tutelage
of US President, Clinton, rescinding the Palestinian Charter.
In 2002 president Bush proposed “roadmap” for Middle East peace. The roadmap called
to firm up permanent status agreement, end of conflict and reach accord on
final borders by 2005.
While
accepted by Palestinians, the Israeli government filed fourteen “conditions”
before pretending to endorse the plan. The imposed fourteen Israeli “conditions”
rendered the US plan dead on
delivery and it never reached the “road” envisioned by the US president.
Nevertheless, the Palestinian leadership bought “again” into the Israeli gambit
and following long grueling sessions of negotiation, they reached by 2008
substantive agreements on key issues with the Israeli Kadima led government
under prime minister Ehud Olmert.
In
2009 the Likud under the leadership of prime minister Netanyahu came back to
power and injected, yet again, new “conditions” on the Palestinians: re-
negotiate from the starting point and recognize Israel once more, but this time, as
a “Jewish state.”
Now,
and in light of the new Israeli disregard to the peace process, the US
and Europe must present Israel with an ultimatum: cease and desist on
building illegal settlements or else they must recognize Palestine as
the 194th member of the United
Nations.
Otherwise,
the doublethink Western policy advocating democracy in the Arab world, while
tolerating Israel’s
subjugation of a whole nation will be seen for what it was: patent hypocrisy.
*Jamal Kanj writes frequently
on Arab
World issues and the author of “Children of Catastrophe, Journey
from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America”, Garnet
Publishing, UK. Jamal’s articles can be read at www.jamalkanj.com, his email address
is jkanj@yahoo.com