Language of Obama:  Crack in US-Israel Combine  -

1. Obama meets Israeli leader

Right from his day one in office, US president Barack Obama has clearly signaled significant departure of US policy in Mideast, pursuing a positive pro-active role for the sole purpose of resolution of the long pending Palestine issue and making the region and world peaceful. Obama invited Israeli leader new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 18 May for exclusive talks on Palestine. Both President Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Israel to freeze settlement activity during Netanyahu's US visit last week. As a result, Israel pledged to remove the outposts under the 2003 "road map" peace plan. The first sit-down between Obama and Netanyahu since both leaders took power in their respective countries this year comes at an unusually delicate time for US-Israel relations. Obama also rejected Netanyahu’s demand to place a short time frame for ending the US diplomatic bid to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions; instead, he stated that his administration would review the results of its overtures at the end of the year. In simple language the Obama administration has rejected the Israeli plea to play Israeli poster boy’s role in Mideast.

 Most members of Netanyahu’s hawkish rightwing government reject the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel and support expanding settlements in the West Bank, territory the Palestinians view as part of their future state.  Netanyahu is understood to want to put off pursuing Palestinian statehood for now, and instead prioritize an effort with the United States and other western countries to stop Iran’s nuclear program, which he views as an existential threat to Israel.. The Israeli leader is also considering military action against Iran, an option that has encountered both private and public opposition from US officials. Netanyahu’s defiance of the idea that has long been a cornerstone of the international community’s Middle East policy drew applause from top members of his Likud Party. Perhaps, Netanyahu’s refusal after the meeting with Obama to utter any support for Palestinian statehood – and only backing a limited form of Palestinian self-government –signals the tough posture of the Zionism, though it appeared aimed at averting a collapse of his right-wing coalition at home.

Thus, a red signal form White House has irritated Israel. Israel’s relations with the USA, its chief terror ally and patron, have entered a new era. Obama on 18 May indicated he would not adopt his predecessor’s tolerance for Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank – considered illegal under international law – and would push the hardline Israeli government to make progress on Palestinian statehood. Israeli media said White House summit between Netanyahu and Barack Obama, further signaled that the US’s Middle East approach is significantly shifting from its years-long alignment with Israeli interests. With Bush, there was total identification between US global policy and Israeli policy, both fought for individual interests, though. Bush, however, never criticized Israel most of his tenure. Now, Obama made it clear that the high party is over and Israel has no reason to take the entire world into ransom on the strength of USA and Europe and, other weapons customers like India.  

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law and widely considered a barrier to peace. As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu returned on 20 May from talks with US President Barack Obama, his Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former premier, warned settlers the outposts would be removed by force if negotiations failed.  The outpost of seven huts, east of Ramallah, was among dozens of sites also illegal under Israeli law, built without government authorization. Israel says its police have destroyed the small illegal settler outpost camp of Maoz Ester in the occupied West Bank. Outposts are periodically destroyed and often rebuilt soon afterwards. The Israeli move comes after the US secretary of state called for an end to "any kind" of settlement activity. However, it is much rarer and more politically difficult for the government to evacuate larger ones.

Israel expands its territory on Palestinians lands illegally, killing or evicting Palestinians and getting lands for Jews. At the same time, Jewish Israeli citizens are moving in to the area cleared by Israeli military. This is illegal under international law as East Jerusalem is occupied territory, though Israel disputes this and has annexed the area.. Palestinian houses are demolished in West Jerusalem too. Palestinians fear this could mean the end of a dream - to one day have East Jerusalem as the capital of their own state. The international community's Middle East envoy Tony Blair told me this cannot be allowed to happen. "The only two-state solution which will work is one that is fair and that will mean East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. 

 2. Israeli Fraud

 Israel continues to show the Palestinian territories as part of Zionist Israel. Israeli tourist ministry has admitted to a "mistake" over adverts on London underground after complaints that they "wipe Palestine off the map". The ads include a map which campaigners say shows the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip - as well as Syria's Golan Heights - as integral parts of Israel. It is a usual strategy of all colonial powers conveniently included the occupying Jammu Kashmir as part of greater India.

Problem with tricky Israel is it violates the truces, scuttles agreements and commitments in order to annex more lands. Though Israel had agreed earlier to halt settlement activity, but has continued to build - mainly in settlement blocs on the west side of the West Bank barrier, areas Israel hopes to keep as part of an eventual peace deal. Israel occupied the three Arab territories, including East Jerusalem, during the 1967 war. It has since illegally cemented its hold by settling hundreds of thousands of its citizens there.

While Israel continues illegal constructions in Palestine, hundreds of East Jerusalem Palestinians have lost their homes over the past few years, thanks to Israeli demolition orders. Israeli NGO's, such as B'Tselem, warn that close to 2,000 could face the same fate over the next months. If current demolition orders are carried out, this would be the largest loss of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem since Israel captured the territory just over 40 years ago.

The Syrian Embassy in London, which had lodged its own protest, described the advert as "offensive". Israel described the adverts as a "professional mistake" with no geopolitical intentions. the ministry had decided to "fast-forward" to the next set of posters scheduled in the campaign, after learning that there was "a bit of a harsh response" to the map advert. No more map adverts would be posted and existing ones would be removed as they reached the end of their scheduled display times over the next two weeks..  The posters were "selling a lie" by suggesting tourists could visit Gaza when the Hamas-run strip is subject to a strict Israeli blockade under which even some doctors and humanitarian workers have been denied entry. The map shows Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in the same striking yellow color; the faintest of white lines mark out the Palestinian territories - though not the Syrian one which Israel annexed in 1981. Justifying the illegal move the ministry said general maps should not be used on billboards. But it denied a Transport for London statement that it had asked for the offending posters to be removed. Transport for London said it has received about 600 complaints about the poster. Hugh Lanning of the London-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign said the adverts were a "disingenuous attempt to remove the Palestinians from the public mind, and create a false impression about what constitutes Israel".

 3. International recognition for Hamas

Israel occupies the Palestinian lands, kills the defenseless Palestinians and constructs illegal settlements for Jews in the lands cleared off the Palestinians. Most of the international community backs, till now, Israel's view that Hamas is a terrorist group, and refuses to deal directly with it. But calls for a rethink have increased since Obama came to power. Some believe there are signs of a subtle change in mood. Hamas has posed a diplomatic conundrum since it won Palestinian elections in 2006, while still espousing Israel's violent destruction in its charter. It became the de facto ruler of Gaza after forcing out its rival, the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, during factional fighting in 2007.

Israel and the international community continued to engage with the PA, but refused to deal with Hamas unless it committed Israeli goals in Palestine, to non-reaction and non-violence, recognized Israel, and accepted previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. The hope was to marginalize Hamas while rewarding the PA's moderation, but the view that this has not worked seems to be gaining traction.

Israel asks the international community to severe links with Hamas and PLO. Israel remains opposed to direct contact with Hamas, citing the fact the group is sworn to Israel's destruction and the thousands of rockets it has launched at Israel towns in recent years. But it has held indirect, Egyptian-brokered talks over ceasefires and the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and 64% of Israelis backed direct talks in a poll a year ago.

The Zionist regime is too eager to block the two-state solution by clubbing a non issue like Iran, because the Neocons do harp on this issue to aid the fascist holocaust n Palestine.  Jewish settlements in the West Bank will be fortified, new outposts will be built and the possibility of a Palestinian state will evaporate.” During his Washington visit, Netanyahu probably obtained his political survival. Indian strategists, media lords and terror minded leaders, who want to “win” Jammu Kashmir also at any cost, observe the scenario in Washington with crossed fingers, mouths and hands. However, it remains unclear whether Obama’s shift from the approach of his predecessor would be enough to nudge the reluctant Netanyahu towards the two-state solution. The Obama administration has to restore the prospects for the two-state solution running out of time because the idea appeared to be losing credibility among both Israelis and Palestinians disillusioned by more than a decade of failed peace efforts.

For Palestinians, the settlements and the fascist security infrastructure surrounding them are a major obstacle to their hopes of a viable state of their own. Netanyahu has promised he will not create new settlements, but backs development within existing ones, which he says is necessary to allow for the "natural growth" of their populations. Nearly half a million Jewish settlers live in communities around the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Some are there because of religious and ideological convictions, others live in settlements for lifestyle or economic reasons.  Netanyahu has also argued that the Palestinians have not met their parallel commitments to dismantle “militant infrastructure” (ruling Hamas people) to defend themselves from fascist Israeli attacks.

A senior economic advisor to Obama, Paul Volcker, recently put his name to a paper which included a "more pragmatic approach to Hamas" among wider policy recommendations. The reaction to the document was "very positive" at a recent meeting which he says was attended by several "senior members" of the Obama administration, including US Middle East envoy George Mitchell. Harry Siegman, the head of the think-tank behind the document, believes there are "early indications" that the new US government will adopt its advice to "cease discouraging" third parties from dealing with Hamas. Meanwhile, Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel who advised US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign, recently co-wrote a book chapter asserting that "a peace process that excludes" Hamas is "bound to fail".

Hamas has had more international visitors since US President Barack Obama came to power, and there are signs that the international community is reconsidering its boycott of the Islamist group. Groups of lawmakers from the UK and EU, traveling independently, have made widely publicized visits to Hamas's exiled leader in Damascus in recent months. Ahmad Youssef, an advisor close to the Hamas movement's political leaders in Gaza, says official representatives of European governments have also come calling - and not just the Norwegians who have long had contact with Hamas.

BY exploiting the inherent Palestinian disunity, Israel’s objective is to deny freedom to Palestinians and to make the whole concept of a PA, or peace, become totally irrelevant.  For Hamas, recognizing Israel is an "inviolable red line", which should not even be discussed until the Palestinians have their own state. "Why should Palestinians recognize Israel when Israel doesn't recognize Palestine?" Hamas leaders rightly ask. "Which Israel are we supposed to recognize? Israel with the settlements? Israel with East Jerusalem? Or Greater Israel that includes Jordan, Lebanon, Syria…?" Erekat says.  Israel has refused to back Palestinian statehood and said it does not accept accords reached in Annapolis in 2007. "If the quartet demands one thing of the Palestinian government and does not apply the same thing to the Israeli government, it's over,” Hamas spokesman Erekat says. But for the PA, which says it has seen no indication of a shift in the US view, the conditions are non-negotiable and the Palestinians have already signed up to them. Its top negotiator, Saeb Erekat, however, warns that Israel's new, right-leaning government is undermining the PA by going back on Israel's commitments.

Hamas and the PA did, however, reach a compromise formula in Mecca in 2007, under which the Islamist movement joined a unity government which would "respect" existing agreements with Israel. But only a handful of countries - such as Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Russia - gave it their backing. The government then fell apart as intra-Palestinian fighting broke out in Gaza. Hamas would stop violence if Israel did too, and lifted its blockade of Gaza. Hamas is open to a 10-year ceasefire, in return for a full withdrawal from the areas Israel occupied in 1967. And Hamas's founding charter is an "ideological document" and "not a manual for action". But they can't just scrap it to appease Israel.

 An Observation

 President Barack Obama is trying to kick-start talks to reach an negotiated agreement creating a state of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not signed up to the idea. The fate of the Golan Heights is key to any peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. While president Obama is separating the issues of Palestine and Iran, fascist Israel tries to demolish that policy of Obama by injecting, as before, a pro-Zionist element, in US policy formulations. By bifurcating the issue of Iran and Palestine in to separate ones, Obama, however, has made it clear he would vigorously pursue the two-state accord for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has suggested progress on Palestinian statehood could help rally support among Arab countries to deal with Iran.

A Fatah-Hamas unity government is often touted as the most likely route to bringing Hamas in from the cold - possibly paving the way for talks with Israel on lifting its nearly two-year blockade of Gaza. But the factions are bitterly divided over many internal issues, and deadlock over the three conditions highlights the deep ideological gulf between them. Israel and its western allies have so far sabotaged the unity move. Now the scenario is slowly changing thanks to Obama. It is obvious that Israel is ruled by military with a regime of its choice. Moshe Yaalon, a former army chief who serves as strategic affairs minister in the new government, conceded that there were “disagreements” between Israel and the United States, but insisted that an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank for the good of a Palestinian state would be a mistake.  Military opposed Israel’s 2005 pullout of civilians and soldiers from the Gaza Strip.  

Obviously, flow of delegations to Gaza seems to be "getting the green light from the Obama administration annoying the Zionist regime. They are more courageous than during the Bush administration. Now by opposing fascist holocaust and illegal settlements in Palestine, Washington is also becoming a “threat” to Zionism. Israel as a key policy employs threat perceptions as the weapon to thwart any peace move. Netanyahu and his allies have warned that Hamas, whose backers include Iran, would take control of the West Bank should Israel leave the territory under Palestinian rule.

As a strategy to gain support of global anti-Islamic forces and their media, Israel rakes up non issues like toy rockets from Hamas, supplied by Mossad agents there, Iran’s nuclear arsenals, etc, so that the issue remains unresolved forever. Israel wants to cripple the Palestinians in al possible ways, in economic and security, and wants others to give them weapons to defend themselves.  Those who advocate dialogue with Hamas believe it will strengthen moderates from Hamas's political wing.

Pragmatism of Obama administration is a lifeline in the peace process in Mideast and should be welcomed. Yes, Obama, unlike his predecessors, is serious about his role. If an Israel-Hamas ceasefire held and Fatah and Hamas reconciled, the US should deal with a Palestinian unity government and "authorize low-level contact with Hamas in Gaza". And in January, Tony Blair, the international community's Middle East envoy, warned against "pushing Gaza aside". The fascists in Israel, by taking the US support for granted, cannot go on killing the innocent Palestinians, and expand their illegal settlements on Palestinians lands. Change of government in Tel-Aviv would make no difference to the Palestine issue, but change of guards in Washington is certainly making its impact felt now in Israel, and else where. We will discuss them all in due course.  

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Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

Independent Researcher in World Affairs,

The only Indian to have gone through entire India, a fraud and terror nation,
South Asia.