Acknowledge growing need for Israel-Palestine peace talks
Recently, the successful preliminary peace talks between the Republic of Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have paved a potential path to the official end of the Korean War, technically ongoing since 1950. While this is certainly an inspirational and exciting moment in international diplomacy, another post-World War II sectarian conflict has only shown signs of getting worse. Persistently bedeviling world leaders since 1948 and contributing to a great deal of misery in the region itself, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appears to be going nowhere.
While constant tensions over the blockade of Gaza and the continued encroachment of Israeli settlers into the West Bank had already begun to boil over once more into outright anger, the recent outbreak of violence in the region can be entirely traced back to our incompetent-in-chief. Aiming to win over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud Party, and to reward wealthy Jewish Republican donors like Sheldon Adelson, then-candidate Donald Trump announced in April 2016 that he would move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem if elected.
Although Israel claims Jerusalem as its undivided capital, Palestinians maintain that East Jerusalem is the only foreseeable capital for a potential Palestinian state. As such, all but a select few international partners conduct government affairs in Tel Aviv. Setting up shop in Jerusalem would be an incredible slap in the face to the Palestinians, tantamount to declaring that there is no future for a Palestinian state. Although Congress in the Clinton era had passed legislation recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital, the White House had always declined to act on the recommendation, citing the obvious diplomatic and security concerns involved. While the close alliance between Israel and the U.S. is obvious to all, previous presidential administrations had at least paid lip service to the idea of considering the needs and wants of both the Israelis and Palestinians. Until now, that is.
Unfortunately, the Jerusalem embassy is one of the scant few campaign promises President Trump has followed through on. On December 6, 2017, Trump officially ordered the American embassy to be transferred to Jerusalem. On May 14, the embassy officially opened for business, albeit in an understated manner. The majority of American diplomats and staffers will remain in Tel Aviv, with ambassador David Friedman splitting his time between the two cities. In terms of actual statecraft, this changes little. What is far more important here is the messaging involved. Essentially, the Trump administration has given the green light to Netanyahu’s hardline control of the West Bank and Gaza, and basically admitted to the Palestinian Authority that realistic peace negotiations are off the table.
While living in the open-air prison that is Gaza has never been an easy task, recent events have truly revealed to Palestinians how little the international community thinks about their plight. Obviously, the embassy move is a huge insult, but the U.S. is hardly alone in this regard. Egypt, which has recognized Israel since the Camp David Accords in 1979, openly collaborates with the Israel Defense Forces on anti-terrorist initiatives in the region and steadfastly maintains its end of the total blockade of Gaza. Once firmly committed to the Palestinian cause, former Israeli antagonists like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have begun something of a detente with the Jewish state, unified by their mutual concern over Iran’s military exploits.
Interviewed by the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg during his April tour of the United States, Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, took a surprising position on the disputed territory. When asked if he believed that the Jewish people had the right to a homeland in the Middle East, Salman responded in the positive, stating, "I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation. I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.” For the future leader of Saudi Arabia, a once-staunch opponent of Israel, to publicly proclaim that Israel deserves to exist in some form is a real turnaround. Neither the Palestinian Authority, the U.N.-recognized entity which controls the West Bank, or Hamas, the terrorist organization that rules Gaza, appear to have any real means of winning the rest of the Arab world back over.
Bereft of allies and cut out of the peace process, Palestinians have turned to collective anger. Throughout the past month, Palestinian activists have organized mass protests they call the “Great March of Return” along the Gaza border, seeking the right of return granted to Israelis, but denied to Palestinians. If neither the U.S. nor Israel is willing to come to the negotiation table, the logic goes, the issues will come to both countries instead. Israel has responded by upping its already heavy military presence alongside the border, citing the risk of potential terrorist activity and a breach of the thin chain-link border fence. Over nearly a month of protests, Israeli military fire has killed nearly 80 Gazans and injured over 5,000, according to a May 14 Times of Israel article. Why highly skilled troops are using live fire against civilians throwing rocks and flying burning kites remains unanswered.
Protesters are planning a climactic demonstration on May 15, a day of significant importance to the local populace. For the Palestinians, the 15th is Nakba Day. Translated from the Arabic, “nakba” best comes out to “catastrophe,” which should speak volumes as to how Palestinians see the foundation of Israel. Given the prior bloodshed and chaos, and the high volume of Palestinians expected to come to protest, Nakba Day will likely be an ugly affair as long as the Israeli military continues to use live fire. If Israel is willing to extend the right of peaceful protests to its own citizens without question, why should the Palestinians be exempt?
Currently, the United States has shown no indication of criticizing or punishing Israel for its brutal response toward protests. If anything, the embassy opening has served to embolden the worst aspects of Israel’s political and military sphere. If the American diplomatic community wants to create a realistic path for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, it cannot allow the kind of short-sighted behavior practiced by the Trump administration to continue. Most Israelis are keenly aware that the current situation in Gaza is untenable and that the status quo will only hurt all involved. It is too bad, then, that Netanyahu and his buddies in the Knesset do not seem to care. Unless significant action is taken, the kind of violence we are currently seeing in Gaza will continue to worsen.
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