http://972mag.com/israeli-settlement-plans-should-shake-up-american-policymakers/62401/
vBy Dahlia Scheindlin <http://972mag.com/author/dahlias/> |Published December 20, 2012Israeli settlement plans should shake up American policymakers *E1 should be a serious wake-up call for American policymakers, Michael Cohen argues below. If the controversial building project in the West Bank goes forward, he writes, its time to start saying what everyone in Washington knows the two-state solution will die and the U.S. risks supporting a future of apartheid.* By Michael Cohen If there is one singular, yet frustratingly unattainable idea that has animated the Arab-Israeli peace process for the past two decades it is that of a two-state solution to the conflict a Zionist and a Palestinian state living next to each other in peace within the confines of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is an aspiration mouthed by all sides in the conflict by the current Israeli prime minister<http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=294790>, the head of the Palestinian Authority and U.S. and European policymakers even if confidence in the achievement of this long-sought after goal seems more distant than ever, even if the present Israeli government has demonstrated little apparent interest in seeing its realization and even if we are perhaps further away from its realization at any point since Oslo. The fact that the two-state solution is receding is too rarely uttered. For this reason, the recent announcement by the Israeli government that it intends to ramp up settlement growth in the West Bank, and begin construction planning in the E1 area, which connects Jerusalem to the Israeli settlement of Maaleh Adumim, is both so controversial and also so clarifying. Indeed, reaction to the Israelis governments announcement has been loud and furious, from the threat of European countries to recall their ambassadors from Tel Aviv to the stern response from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-sends-warning-to-israel-over-settlement-plans/article6016546/>, one of only nine countries to support Israel in the UN General Assembly during the recent vote on Palestinian statehood<http://972mag.com/palestinian-statehood-bid-succeeds-not-just-a-symbol/61094/> at the United Nations. Even the United States has criticized the Netanyahu government and by all accounts gave its European allies a green light to apply diplomatic pressure on Israel. The reason is not simply because of Israels continued flaunting of global public opinion, the spirit of the Oslo agreement and the positions of its allies in the United States and Europe (and also the humiliation of its one legitimate Palestinian ally, President Abbas) but rather because construction in E1 would make it practically impossible for a contiguous and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital to take form. Building in E1 would not necessarily put a stake in the heart of a two-state solution, but it would come awfully close. None of Israels political allies who regularly voice their support for the now moribund peace process while tut-tutting at Israels continued settlement program want to entertain such a possibility. It would mean ending the increasingly unlikely notion that a two-state solution particularly one not born from future conflict is still possible. And it would put enormous pressure on Israels allies to re-examine their bilateral relationship with a country that could potentially find itself ruling over a majority of politically disenfranchised Palestinians. Now this question, of whether the two-state solution is dead on life support or whether it can still be achieved, is one that generates great controversy. There are more than a few observers of the region who will argue that a two-state solution is out of reach. By this argument, Israeli settlements have become so intertwined with Palestinian society that it would be virtually impossible to disentangle them. At present, there are an estimated 350,000 settlers<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/07/jewish-settlers-in-west-bank-pass-350000-mark.html> in the West Bank. Beyond that there are approximately 70,000 settlers living beyond the separation barrier <http://972mag.com/special/the-wall-2/>, which was built by the Israeli government over the last decade to keep Palestinian terrorists from entering Israel. The challenge in moving these individuals out of the settlements and in particular the most zealous and religiously committed of them means reaching a deal with the Palestinians, and that is only half the battle. Israeli society and its leaders will also have to find the political will to uproot settlement communities and in the process risk civil conflict among Israelis. Indeed, the current Israeli government, which is one of the most right-wing ever to hold power in Israel and certainly the most opposed to two states than any since the signing of Oslo in 1993 (despite its official rhetoric), has shown precious little inclination to take on the settler community. If anything, it *shares* the settlers goal of perpetuating and expanding Israeli control over the West Bank. Considering that this government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is highly likely to secure another four-year term come January, settlement expansion that runs the risk of ultimately blocking the creation of a Palestinian state will continue unabated. And every month and every year that there is no progress on the two-state front the achievement of a potential Palestinian state becomes that much more unrealistic. Beyond these issues is the general apathy and resignation of the Israeli public to the current trajectory of peace efforts. Even though a sizable percentage of Israelis continues to support two-states a recent poll of Israeli Jews shows that 55 percent<http://sadat.umd.edu/Israel_Nov12_rpt_FINAL.pdf> of them dont believe [a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians] will ever be achieved. Of course, the fact that Hamas continues to reject Israels right to exist, pines for all Palestine to be under its control and fires rockets indiscriminately into Israeli cities makes the realization of a lasting peace even more difficult and hardens the conviction of Israelis that they have no true partner for peace, further reinforcing Israelis belief that maintenance of the status quo is the only alternative These are glaring political challenges that Western policymakers and in particular U.S. leaders have generally been loath to acknowledge, particularly the increasingly significant impediments to peace on the Israeli side. For the United States, in particular, which has such a close relationship with Israel, those impediments are almost too painful to consider namely the possibility that five, 10 or 15 years from now, the United States will be providing billions of dollars in aid to a Jewish state that fails to offer full political rights to a majority of Arabs in effect, an apartheid state. This is why E1 construction is such a hot button, not simply because of the damage it would do to the creation of a Palestinian state, but also because it brings to the fore this exact issue, which U.S. policymakers have done their best to ignore as they mouth the latest platitude<http://www.cfr.org/palestinian-authority/susan-rices-statement-palestines-un-status-november-2012/p29575> about the need for negotiations toward a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In the end, while is likely that Bibi will eventually back down from this latest provocation (even as other less controversial settlement projects go forward<http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-approves-construction-of-1-500-homes-in-east-jerusalem.premium-1.485449>, like new construction in East Jerusalem) this event should serve as a wake-up call to Israels supporters, particularly the Obama Administration. For the past four years, the U.S. administration has demonstrated nothing but meekness in the face of Israeli impertinence. The Jewish state is on a dangerous and unsustainable course. It is one that leads in few pleasant directions like a renewal of violence, growing international pressure or an Israeli state that is Zionist but not democratic. Everyone knows this is happening, but no one wants to talk about it, including Israels benefactors in Washington. The E1 imbroglio creates a small chance to make sure everyone has to. *Michael Cohen is a fellow at the Century Foundation. Follow him on twitter: @speechboy71.* *Related:* E1 is not a land without a people<http://972mag.com/israeli-settlement-plans-should-shake-up-american-policymakers/62401/972mag.com/e1-is-not-a-land-without-a-people/62265/> Resource: What is the E1 area, and why is it so important?<http://972mag.com/could-e1-be-the-trigger-that-sparks-a-new-round-of-violence/62046/972mag.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=62046&action=edit&message=10> By Noam Sheizaf <http://972mag.com/author/noams/> |Published December 19, 2012Election committee bans Palestinian MK Zoabi from participating in elections *An automatic appeal before the Supreme Court will be heard next week. Zoabis party, Balad, has already announced it will withdraw from the elections if the decision is not reversed. * <http://972mag.com/resource-israeli-elections-and-palestinian-parliamentarians/61918/zoabi-2/> MK Haneen Zoabi (photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org) Israels Central Election Committee (CEC) voted today (Wednesday) to disqualify Palestinian Knesset Member Haneen Zoabi from participating in the coming elections. MK Zoabi is the number two candidate on Balads Knesset list. The decision is automatically transferred to the Supreme Court, which will hear the appeal next week. Earlier today, Balad announced that if the Supreme Court doesnt allow Zoabi to run, the entire party will withdraw from the elections. The decision did not come as a surprise: The CEC is a political body whose members are determined in proportion to the representation of their parties in the Knesset. The current committee therefore has a clear right-wing majority. The decision to ban Zoabi from taking part in the elections was also supported by members of Kadima, widely considered a centrist party. Labor, Meretz, Hadash, Livnis Hatnua party and the Palestinian parties voted against, and the result was 19-9 in favor of the disqualification. Interestingly enough, the CEC rejected requests to disqualify Palestinian parties Balad and Raam Taal from taking part in the elections. In previous elections, both parties were disqualified but the decision was reversed by the Supreme Court. Still, Balad held a press conference today, in which party leader Dr. Jamal Zahalka made it clear that Balad will not run without Zoabi: This [move] hurts the entire Arab public. Its purpose is to weaken the political power of the Arab citizens in the Knesset and to strengthen the Israeli right. We fully support MK Zoabi and all her actions, and we emphasize again that if the Supreme Court does not reverse the decision, Balad will not take part in the coming elections. MK Zoabi, the only Palestinian woman in the Israeli parliament, was singled out <http://www.promisedlandblog.com/?p=3327> by the Israeli right in 2010 due to her participation in the first Gaza flotilla<http://www.promisedlandblog.com/?p=3009>. But despite all the video evidence that the IDF confiscated from passengers on the Mavi Marmara, it failed to prove that MK Zoabi knew or took place in any action against IDF soldiers who stormed the ship (leaving eight Turkish citizens and one American dead). After failing to press criminal charges against Zoabi, coalition members tried to withdraw some of her rights as an MK, and even to physically attack her. At one point, the Knesset speaker had to assign bodyguards to the Arab Knesset member. Here is a video (with English subtitles) showing Knesset Members preventing MK Zoabi from speaking: *http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KBUxZnHb2ig* Chances are that the Supreme Court will indeed let Zoabi run (I am pretty sure that some of the MKs who voted against her had this in mind). Israeli law actually makes it harder to prevent a specific candidate, rather than an entire party, from running, and the evidence against him or her needs to be very strong. This is not the case with Zoabi. Earlier this week, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein issued an opinion claiming there is not enough evidence to disqualify Zoabi. It is thus very unlikely that even the current Supreme Court, which is more conservative then previous ones, will take a different position. In the unlikely event that Zoabi *is* disqualified, a boycott at least partial of the elections by Palestinian citizens of Israel will probably take place. Such a scenario wont only change the outcome of the vote, but would also be a watershed moment between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel, the significance of which will be felt long after these elections. 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