The US and the Israeli settlements

By: Daryoush Bavar

The settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 446, adopted in March 1979, stipulates “that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East."

The US has consistently avoided serious confrontations with Israel over the issue of settlements. And if there were any opposition, it has been limited to mere words. For instance, in the wake of the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference, which was held in November 2007 in Maryland, the then US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice referred repeatedly to Israel's obligations regarding the removal of "illegal outposts" and its obligations to stop settlements. But Washington's demands fell on deaf ears in Tel Aviv and instead Israel built more settlements and illegal outposts throughout the West Bank including East Jerusalem.

The administration of Barack Obama seemed to be an exception. Unlike his predecessors, he tried to show that Washington's opposition to the Israeli settlements was more than mere words.

Obama is pressing hard to jump start the Middle East peace negotiations. But it seems his peace drive, like some of his other major policies, has wavered.

In a speech in Cairo in June 2009, Obama urged Israel to stop settlement construction in the occupied territories. "The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements," he said. But Israel has defied the demand and settlements keep growing. Practically, every Israeli government has promoted settlement since 1967.

In early September 2009, Israel officially approved the construction of 455 new settlements in the West Bank. Israeli officials have also announced that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, intends to give the go-ahead for the new projects before considering a moratorium on settlement construction for a few months.

Netanyahu's intention of a possible settlement freeze is to manage the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and preserve the status quo. That's why, Israel's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, construction freeze in the West Bank settlements is only a 'strategic pause.' Yishai has said Israel would still build settlements in East Jerusalem. Netanyahu wants to set the conditions for negotiations or any possible agreement with the Palestinian Authority.

At the same time, he wants to manage Israel's relationship with the US and keep the ties from plunging into confrontation.

But a serious question that remains is if the US, Britain, France, Russia and the UN are unable to make Israel stop building new settlements in the occupied Palestinian lands, even for a short period of time, how can they make it negotiate a solution for core issues related to the long-simmering conflict including the right of return of millions of Palestinian refugees, the status of Jerusalem, border demarcation and water supplies?

Obama came to power with the slogan of change, but delivering the change that is necessary to striking a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he has deemed a US national security priority, is the hard part.