To avert disaster, stop isolating Hamas

[Jefferson23]

By Chris Patten

Published: July 28 2010 22:27 | Last updated: July 28 2010 22:27

As we all know, peace will come to the Middle East when Israel and Palestine agree to a two-state solution, with a viable Palestinian state rising from the rubble of more than 60 years of turbulence to live peacefully alongside Israel within the 1967 borders as modified through negotiation. All that is required is political will, brave leadership and a following wind. However, visitors to Israel and occupied Palestine may require increasing quantities of blind faith to go on repeating this mantra. There is no other acceptable outcome. But the chances of the dynamic external interventions necessary for this to happen seem slight.

In the West Bank you see more construction of large urban developments than I have seen anywhere in Europe (apart from perhaps the southern Andalusia coast before the credit crunch). These are primarily Israeli settlements, the colonies planted illegally in Palestinian territory and now housing about half a million people. There are 149 of these colonies according to the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs and there are a further 100 outposts – the smaller “facts on the ground” that are destined to grow.

As the Obama administration has told us there is an “unprecedented freeze” in settlement activity. Who is fooling whom? What is described as a moratorium on settlement building is destined to end in September when the so-called proximity talks between Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, are supposed to lead to something more substantial than simply talking about talking. Let’s hope the next freeze is a little chillier. What is happening is that Jerusalem is being ringed by huge Israeli suburbs and further building is planned to the south.

Moreover, under the Oslo Agreement – and this is one of the few parts that Israel abides by – the development of 60 per cent of Palestine is determined by Israel in the “Category C zone”. Here, Palestinian construction is tightly controlled. Meanwhile, new highways carve up the West Bank, joining up the Israeli colonies. They are forbidden to Palestinian travellers unless they have a permit.



remainder: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2bb24988-9a7a-11df-87fd-00144feab49a.html

on edit for clarity.

[azurnoir]

1. A "disaster" for who ?

As long as the answer remains the Palestinians, Israel will change nothing they have nothing to lose by staying the course they are on

[Donald Ian Rankin]

2. This is the crux of the problem

The status quo - prosperity, relative peace, and expansion of the settlements for Israel, and poverty and occupation for the Palestinians - is entirely sustainable, sadly.

[Ken Burch]

4. Until it provokes a MORE extreme response of some sort

It is NOT acceptable for the Israeli government to try to force Palestinians into choosing the most violent leadership possible, since there is clearly a limit to the degree that that government can demand that any other countries support it.

[Jefferson23]

3. I believe the author is attempting to give Israel the benefit of the doubt

But point noted.