The visit of King Abdullah II of Jordan to Washington and his summit withPresident Obama revealed clearly a convergence of views on the needto seriously address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
President Obama sent all the proper signals: his invitation to anArab leader before the Israelis and his reiteration of his "strong" supportfor the two-state solution is clearly intended to rebut Israel's right-wing position.
The traditional US diplomatic approach has emphasized the "process"part of the "peace process." President Obama's impressive signalssince day one in office -- telephoning Arab leaders before Europeanallies, appointing special envoy George Mitchell and speaking onAl-Arabiyeh for his first interview -- reflect a different approachthan staid, unimaginative past years. In the last 30 years, USadministrations have usually only exhibited deep interest in theArab-Israeli conflict in the last year of two terms.
In the Arab and Muslim worlds the litmus test of any sane US foreignpolicy will be how it deals with the Palestinian problem. On thebooks, the US position is fine. On the ground, the opposite is true.Washington has repeatedly opposed the 1967 Israeli occupation ofPalestinian territories and has called for its end. It hasconsistently voiced disapproval of settlement activities. Leaders ofboth major US parties have articulated a policy that calls for aviable, contiguous Palestinian state on the lands occupied in 1967.The United States has also opposed Israel's unilateral annexation ofEast Jerusalem and --along with every nation on the planet -- refused to recognize Israel'sapplication of Israeli law on residents of East Jerusalem.
Yet Israel's actions on the ground have gone counter to American andinternational positions. The newly established Israeli governmentrefuses even to give lip service to the internationally acceptedrequirements for peace. On the other hand, the freely electedPalestinian leadership faces international boycott until it accepts asolution that the Netanyahu government rejects.
Among the international community's demands of Israel has been theacceptance of the two-state solution and a total settlement freeze. Afreeze of all settlement activity, which includes expansion andnatural growth, will certainly be a central focus of the robustdiplomacy of Mitchell and his team on the ground. Mitchell, who wasdeeply involved in crafting the settlements language of the MitchellReport of 2001, understands the capacity of the settlements to destroythe prospects for two states.
Jerusalem is another on-the-ground issue that will be a litmus testfor the Obama administration. Therepeated house demolitions and Israeli provocations in East Jerusalempoint to the need to confront this issue without delay.
A third imperative for Palestinians today is to reunite the Gaza Stripand West Bank. Irrespective of the outcome of the internal Palestiniandialogue taking place in Cairo, there is a need to reconnectPalestinians. There is no excuse why Palestinians living in eitherremaining sliver of Mandate Palestine should be barred from travelingto the other part of the occupied Palestinian territories. Claimsby Israeli officials that barring the movement of people and goods isdone for security reasons do not withstand scrutiny. Under theleadership of US General Keith Dayton, the most vigorous securitychecks can be made to allow such travel.
With renewed peace talks, results must be stressed over endlessprocess. The last failed promise byPresident George W. Bush came at Annapolis in late 2007 when hepromised that an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian statewould see the light before the end of his term.
King Abdullah's message to the new results oriented American presidentwill be simple. More than four decades after UN Security Councilresolution 242, the "inadmissibility" of occupying land by forceremains valid despite the passage of time, the building of illegal,exclusive Jewish settlements, and restrictions on movement. Time isno longer on the side of those who favor two states. The Obamaadministration must seize the initiative and insist that Netanyahucome round to US support for two states. Otherwise, tension looms inthe Israeli-American relationship and the cries for one state withequal rights for all will begin to drown out older ideological voicesseemingly unaware that settlement activity is foreclosing on theprospect of two states.
Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian columnist, runs the Jordanian-basedCommunity Media Network and a former Ferris Professor of Journalism atPrinceton University. His email is info@daoudkuttab.com.