Domestic Foreign Policy Storm Clouds -- The Unresolved Israel Palestine Dispute

After President Obama's speech to a special Joint Session of Congress and the telecast of the GOP candidates' debate at the Reagan Library, the president will be confronted with a major foreign policy issue affecting domestic politics. This is the ongoing Israel-Palestinian peace and land negotiation dispute. Few issues, except for race relations in America, have the capacity to inflame domestic politics and become as divisive.

Historically, a majority of Americans have supported successive Democratic and Republican administrations' support for Israel. Such support will undoubtedly continue. However, there is a risk that such future support may be a mile wide; but only an inch deep. The significant domestic fiscal limitations upon United States economic power and resources have qualitatively rearranged the dynamics of the power and ability of Israel and the United States to play the decisive role they once enjoyed in the region. Sooner or later, the reality of this will impact and influence domestic politics in America.

The spark most likely and immediately to reignite and inflame the Israel-Palestinian "peace negotiations" is the pending plan of the Palestinian Leadership to seek admission of Palestine, as an independent "State" to the United Nations. The PLO leadership intends to appeal to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this month. However, the proposal of the PLO, in and of itself, will not be the sole source of exacerbating divisions within Congress and our nation.

It is more likely that the "interrelatedness" of this event to the pending dispute between Turkey and Israel over the recent UN Report upholding the legality of Israel's efforts to stop the Mavi Marmara from breaking Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, and its refusal to apologize for the killing of several Turkish nationals. This, combined with the upheaval in Libya and Syria, the pending trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the accelerating winds from the Arab Spring are fanning the embers of the current Autumn of peaceful non-violent protest in Israel and Palestine against continuation of an unsustainable status quo. This may create, potentially, a perfect domestic political "storm" for President Obama.

In an editorial in the New York Times, last month, the Times commented:

For years, they (the Palestinians) have been promised a negotiated solution -- President Obama called for a peace deal by September -- and they are still empty-handed. But the consequences could be profoundly damaging for all involved.

... All share blame for the stalemate. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has used any excuse he can find (regional turmoil, the weakness of his coalition government) to avoid negotiations. He has blustered and balked at President Obama's prodding. Republican leaders in Washington -- who seem mainly interested in embarrassing Mr. Obama -- have encouraged his resistance."

We see no sign that Washington or the Israelis are thinking beyond the incremental.

The editorial says "all share blame for the stalemate." Factually, this is true but, it is also disingenuous. So-called "peace negotiations" have been taking place over a substantial period of time during which Israel has continued building settlements on Palestinian land it occupies, diminishing the amount of land that would be ultimately available to establish an independent "State."

The reason this remains such a potentially explosive issue for domestic and international politics is because the current leaders in Israel, Palestine and Washington may have become regionally and historically marginal, if not irrelevant, to the fundamental changes that have occurred and continue to occur on the ground in the Middle East following the Arab Spring. Neither Hamas, the PLO, nor the Netanyahu government can "negotiate" a solution acceptable and supportable by the emerging new generation of Israelis and Palestinians who are seeking another way; another possibility to resolving their differences. This "other way" appears to be a growing movement of peaceful non-violent protest to the status quo based on their quest for justice rooted in the principles and precepts of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

A powerful example of this is portrayed in a film about the community of Budrus and the successful efforts of members of that community to prevent the illegal acquisition of their land and olive trees. In 2003 Israel decided to build a "Separation Barrier" or wall on the land of Budrus, confiscating 300 acres of the community's land and removing 1,500 olive trees. Israel's rationale for the barrier was that it was needed to protect itself from suicide bombers and other acts of violence against it from the West Bank. The community of Budrus responded by asking "Why couldn't the wall or separation barrier be built on Israeli land, not our land of olive trees and close knit community?" Ms. Ronit Avni, a Washington, D.C. based film maker produced a documentary film about Budrus.

Last year Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times called the film "This Year's Must-See Documentary" and it received critical acclaim and awards around the world. The film describes the determination of the families in Budrus to save their ancestral land and olive trees by peaceful non-violent resistance to Israel's planned route of the "Separation Barrier." Budrus is the first Palestinian village to succeed in saving lands through nonviolence, and their model is spreading -- slowly but surely -- throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In recent weeks, a second village, Bil'in, also reclaimed lands that it had lost after many years of nonviolent protest.

Those of us who still believe in the viability and morality of non-violent peaceful resolution should direct the attention of President Obama to the successful non-violent resistance struggle of Budrus. We must encourage him to resist the repetitive pursuit of a failed strategy for Israeli Arab peace that is politically inconsistent with the new reality of the facts on the ground. We should urge him to support a new strategy which supports and encourages the current non-violent Autumn effort in Israel and Palestine to peacefully negotiate a settlement reflective of this new reality.

 

 

 

Comments

[JamesHovland]

02:29 PM on 09/11/2011

For the Palestinians, the strategy of peaceful non-violent resistance goes deeper than that. Without a threat Israel has no defense. This war is over.

[bounced01]

01:53 PM on 09/09/2011

Great article. I look forward to an end to the Illegal Israeli settlements and institution of a completely free Palestinian state that is not in any way entangled with Israeli government or military, achieved in a peaceful and legal manor, and achieved SOON.

Viva Palestine.

[basenji]

03:06 AM on 09/09/2011

Turkey and Egypt should begin treating Israelis the way the latter treats Palestinians. American support hinges on media coverage. Not a single MSM outlet carried the story about Robert Gates saying Netanyahu is an ungrateful ally. Keeping Americans in the dark is what the 'support' hinges on. Educate everyone in your path.

[fairwayhill]

10:56 PM on 09/08/2011

The solution to ending the occupation of Palestine is to end the occupation of Palestine.

[vcgh2000]

11:13 PM on 09/08/2011

fairwayhill...If you Google "Gaza Offshore Gas Reserves" you'll find one of the reasons Israel keeps such a tight hold on Gaza.

[yonatan c]

02:50 PM on 09/19/2011

Are you sure you didn't mean to tell her to google http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karine_A_Affair

[Gracie fr]

08:37 PM on 09/08/2011

“Israel is like a small island in a region inhabited by several hundred million Arabs. When the Arabs were governed by undemocratic regimes, it was possible from Israel’s perspective to come to terms with those leaders,” the Turkish president said. “Take a look at when military cooperation [between Israel and Turkey] began to develop. Democracy is on the ascent, however, and no democratic country can follow a dishonorable policy by disregarding its own citizens’ wants and sensitivities. For that reason, Israel must think about an honorable peace.”
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gul-israel-is-ungrateful-even-burden-to-its-allies-2011-09-08

[blutopie]

10:25 PM on 09/08/2011

Israel has to deal with Arab people now, and it has to deal with them as human beings. This is a gamechanger for Israel

No more Israeli-American puppets like Mubarak who had no regard for the lives of his people

[vcgh2000]

11:22 PM on 09/08/2011

I totally agree...the gamechange is on.
The old rules don't work anymore, and now that Mubarek is gone, the one remaining ally of Israel is the United States...and how much longer can we expect to dominate the world?

[Freenation]

08:02 PM on 09/08/2011

beautiful article...

[tallen]

07:34 PM on 09/08/2011

"So-called "peace negotiations" have been taking place over a substantial period of time during which Israel has continued building settlements on Palestinian land it occupies, diminishing the amount of land that would be ultimately available to establish an independent "State." "

What's always been disingenuous is to lay blame for the continuation of the conflict on "settlements".
There were settlements and continued building in the Sinai when Egypt and Israel agreed to peace. All the settlements disappeared.
There were settlements in Gaza, they disappeared even in the absence of peace, and all Israel received was renewed violence.

The core issue has always been the religious intolerance of the muslim population in the middle east. This intolerance expresses itself as a denial of the rights of non muslims to freedom and self determination.
And that has been why the palestinians, as pawns of the arab league, have refused the statehood offered by UN 181 in 1948. They refused because to accept UN 181 and their own state, they would have to accept the existence of Israel. Something they are still unwilling to do.

This has always been a religious war, and until that is addressed, there will be no peace.

[Freenation]

08:01 PM on 09/08/2011

keep the torch of faux perpetual victimhood burning as an excuse for more land grab...world is sick and tired of this attitude...

[tallen]

08:40 PM on 09/08/2011

Most of the world is tired of Islamic extremism and jihad.

[Gracie fr]

08:25 PM on 09/08/2011

Behind the excuse of religion, there is always the question of power and who is entitled to what. When the powerful thwart opportunity, growth, freedom of commerce and movement under the guise of "seige mentality", they are inviting confrontation from those deprived....

[colincolindale]

04:37 AM on 09/08/2011

Israel’s tourism and trade could be threatened as Turkey considers closing its airspace to all Israeli air-traffic in retaliation for the killing of eight Turkish nationals on board the Mavi Marmara. This would entail all planes from Tel Aviv airport to Europe being forced to fly due west along the Mediterranean before being allowed to turn north over Greece. The additional cost in time and fuel would deter passengers and increase the price of Israel’s overseas trade which is already threatened by a possible re-evaluation of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the human rights provisions of which trading concession; it is alleged to be in breach.

There is a feeling abroad of ‘an eye for an eye’ retribution as the Palestinians recall Israel’s blockade of any air traffic in or out of Gaza and the demolition of its international airport.

[Marcus047]

02:35 PM on 09/08/2011

Planes can travel around turkey, but the great economic damage will be to turkey, when the first act of violence against an Israeli or Jew takes place in turkey and Israelis and Jews from around the world stop traveling to turkey because it's just not safe, including the tens of thousands of Israelis who travel to turkey for business and pleasure every year. That lost money won't be made up by Syrian or Iranian tourists.

[colincolindale]

04:28 PM on 09/08/2011

Let's not be silly, Marcus! Turkey has the 16th largest economy in the world, over 4 times that of Israel. I doubt whether a few Israeli tourists will be missed, do you?

[Gracie fr]

08:20 PM on 09/08/2011

There is more of a chance than violence in Turkey will be unleashed by Kurdish separatists due to the recent escalation in bombing of Kurdish strongholds on the eastern frontier.....

[Mia Nodecker]

05:55 PM on 09/08/2011

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/08/us-turkey-gaza-idUSTRE78765F20110908

Turkey said on Thursday it would escort aid ships to Gaza and would not allow a repetition of last year's Israeli raid that killed nine Turks, setting the stage for a potential naval confrontation with its former ally.

[tallen]

08:42 PM on 09/08/2011

We'll see if Erdogan is so itching for war that he'll risk everything for Hamas and his dreams of a neo-Ottoman empire.

[ElkoJohn]

12:10 AM on 09/08/2011

The folks in Gaza are ''David'' to the US & Israel ''Goliath''
I hope they make some progress in the UN despite to opposition from Goliath.
(If only they had some oil under their sand -- then we could be there ''friends.'')

[GuiltyByStander]

02:17 PM on 09/08/2011

We can and will be -- they have plenty of gas under the seabed that will be designated as their territorial waters. This wealth is part of the reason that Israel's policy toward Palestine seems incomprehensibly cruel and self-defeating. Religion and greed are tripping over each other.