As talks begin between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, it's important for me to read/listen to our news critically and to seek out other views, since much of what we hear reflects the Israeli government's view, without much attention to what Palestinians want or are thinking. The article below appeared on Aljezeera English and is written from a Palestinian perspective by Joseph Munayyer, the director of the Palestine Center in Washington DC. http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/Home/pid/187
It is personally frustrating for me to see how Israel has continued to construct settlements on Palestinian land, which seems to me to undermine efforts to create two states. I wonder how two parties can sit at the negotiating table, while one of the parties continues to steal land from the other. What sort of trust can exist as a basis for peace while Israel builds walls on Palestinian land and bulldozes olive trees? And how can the US, which claims to be a "broker for peace," allow this settlement construction, when it clearly is an obstacle to peace? In 1992 there were 110,000 settlers in the West Bank; today there are 600,000. I highly recommend this short article by Joseph Munayyer, which shows how the US has played its part; be sure to click through to read the whole article – it's not long.
It was all part of the plan
By Yousef Munayyer
An interesting exercise, made easily possible today by the magic of the internet, is a search of news articles on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over time.
The most central and persistent theme is the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. During intifadas, not during intifadas, during peace talks, not during peace talks, it didn’t matter. For the Israelis, every year was a good year to build more settlements.
What has changed dramatically is the reality on the ground, represented by both the number of settlers and settlements. Another change, clearly traced below, has been in the position of the United States toward the settlement issue.
By Yousef Munayyer
An interesting exercise, made easily possible today by the magic of the internet, is a search of news articles on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process over time.
The most central and persistent theme is the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. During intifadas, not during intifadas, during peace talks, not during peace talks, it didn’t matter. For the Israelis, every year was a good year to build more settlements.
What has changed dramatically is the reality on the ground, represented by both the number of settlers and settlements. Another change, clearly traced below, has been in the position of the United States toward the settlement issue.
Click here to read the rest of this analysis.
This article originally appeared on Aljazeera English/Opinion.
Yousef Munayyer is Executive Director of the Palestine Center. This policy brief may be used without permission but with proper attribution.
1 comment:
Cool!
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