Netanyahu Ready to Approve of Palestinian State
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The hard-line Israeli prime minister softens stance ahead of meeting with President Obama.
As he prepares for his first meeting President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally appears ready to endorse an independent Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has always been known for his staunch opposition toward a Palestinian state, insisting that the Palestinians weren’t ready for self-rule. His strong opposition toward the issue all but completely stalled the Middle East peace process during his first term as Israeli prime minister back in the 90’s, putting him at odds with Washington as well as all parties involved. Relations with Egypt, the first Arab state to make peace with Israel, soured deeply during Netanyahu’s first term. He has insisted on first building up the Palestinian economy and security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. But he is said to oppose allowing the Palestinians to have their own military.
After a recent meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah, however, a Jordanian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Netanyahu was ready to endorse a Palestinian state.
The issue of an independent Palestinian state has been the main stumbling block in the Middle East process since the original 1947 United Nations mandate that called for a partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and a Palestinian state and it is the only obstacle standing in the way of peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors as well as much of the Muslim world. While nearly all Arab states in the region bitterly objected to the partition initially and even tried to destroy Israel immediately after it declared independence, most have softened their stance towards Israel in recent years and have stated their willingness to make peace with the Jewish state only after the establishment of a independent Palestinian state.
Even if Netanyahu is indeed ready for a Palestinian state he would be expected to make moves to prove that he is serious, such as freezing the construction of Jewish settlements on occupied land, a move that will certainly be met with stiff resistance by his fellow hard-liners.
He would also be expected to settle the highly sensitive topic of Jerusalem, one of the biggest obstacles in the establishment of a Palestinian state. Nearly every Israeli prime minister since its independence, even the most dovish, have insisted that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital while the Palestinians want East Jerusalem, which contains the holiest and most sacred sites for both Jews and Arabs, to be the capital of their independent state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also have a lot of work cut out for himself if he is to prove that the Palestinians are capable of running a peaceful, civilized and stable country that is willing to accept Israel as a neighbor and ally. If the Palestinians want to convince the international community that they are peaceful and civilized people who are ready to join it they must stop glorifying violence against Israel and permanently stump out Hamas. Abbas would also have to overhaul the corrupt and incompetent Palestinian security forces and he must resist the temptation to get cozy with Iran.
Peace isn’t always easy.
2 Comments
Nice overview of the complicated context.
I hope there will be peace for both nations; Israelis and Palestinians. But the actual fact is, the whole thing has been a game. So far the Zionist state of Israel in the shadow of, or shadowing the USA, has succeeded in muting other governments all over the world by means of filtered propaganda, intimidation; Anti-Semitism card being waved in the face of people who have different opinion than the Zionists, crimes, control, etc.
The Zionists’re clever at winning times by giving empty promises bound by difficult terms. Now the question is, who should publicly be initiative and take the first practical step towards peace? – No hanky-panky under the table.
Considering all the games and waste of time by the Zionist state of Israel in the past, it should be Israel. The Arabs have been the victims, not only victimized by Israel, but also by Britain, France, the USA, etc. for a long, long time.