Occupied Jerusalem: The former US president Jimmy Carter said on Monday that Washington had “zero” influence over Israel and the Palestinians to resolve their decades-long conflict, and its sway had dropped to the lowest level in 45 years.
Speaking on a tour of occupied east Jerusalem with a group of former world leaders known as “The Elders,” Carter said he was not optimistic that the United States could reassert its influence and suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had given up on the two-state solution.
“A major change lately has been the withdrawal of American influence” in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, Carter said, estimating it was the first time since the 1967 Six-Day War that Washington had not “played a major role” in trying to resolve the conflict.
“This is the first time that we’ve seen since 1967 that an American government hasn’t played a major role,” he said.
“America now has... zero influence on either side and in fact has withdrawn our commitment to be the major negotiator” between the two sides, he said.
“And when the United States withdraws, of course, that gives Israel a completely free hand to do what it wants,” he said, describing it as a “very serious disappointment.”
“US government policy in the last two or three years has been the rapid withdrawal from any kind of controversy that might not be pleasant.”
Whereas Washington was once “the main obstacle to settlement,” it is now “dormant,” said Carter, who served as the 39th US president from 1977-81.
The 88-year-old said he hoped that the upcoming presidential election would help revive US influence in the region, but admitted he was not optimistic.
Former Irish president Mary Robinson, also a member of The Elders who was with the group on its last visit exactly a year ago, said the chances of a two-state solution to the conflict appeared to be disappearing.
“What we want to do as Elders is draw attention to the fact that there is a kind of insidious undermining of the possibility of a two-state solution,” she said.
She indicated that every time the group visited, it saw evidence of more settlements, and more occupied east Jerusalem Palestinian homes being taken over by Israelis.
Carter said he thought Netanyahu was no longer interested a two-state solution to the conflict and was only interested in increasing Israel’s control over the West Bank.
“I think that Netanyahu has decided to abandon the two-state solution,” he said, suggesting the Israeli leader’s policy was now about “taking over the entire West Bank.”
“I think that all the previous [Israeli] prime ministers have been committed to the two-state solution and I don’t believe that is the case now in Israel,” he said.
