The ongoing debates among American aspirants for the leadership of the Republican and Democratic parties within the two houses of the Congress have been disappointingly rough, offensive and insulting on personal, local, international issues, particularly US’ Mideast policy. The campaign rallies, especially of the Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, has been described as rowdy and pugnacious. On the other side, the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, went overboard in committing herself to Israel at last week’s convention of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). But Trump’s position vis-a-vis the Mideast is anybody’s guess, since he is not articulate.
Bernie Sanders, a Democrat and the only Jewish presidential candidate, surprisingly declined to interrupt his important West Coast tour to address the Aipac conference in Washington, D.C. And astonishingly the influential pro-Israel group rejected the senator’s suggestion for a televised address from the West Coast. Moreover, his on-the-air positive pronouncements on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were also unprecedented for a Jewish senator.
He began his televised remarks by underlining that “it is important to be honest and truthful” about differences that the US and Israel may have. Nevertheless, he continued, they will continue to support each other though they are now facing “a very daunting challenge and that is the Israeli and Palestinian conflict”.
Sanders underlined: “But to be successful, we have also got to be a friend not only to Israel, but to the Palestinian people”.
The US senator, who as a youngster lived and worked at an Israeli kibbutz, continued that “peace will mean ending what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian territory, establishing mutually agreed upon borders, and pulling back (Israeli) colonies in the West Bank, just as Israel did in Gaza — once considered an unthinkable move on Israel’s part”.
Next Sanders was critical of the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Interestingly, a few days after Sanders’ firm statement, a full-page advertisement appeared in the New York Times under the headline, ‘Israel’s Security Chiefs Agree: Separation into two states is in Israel’s vital security interest”. But a controversial ending line declared: “The only way Israel can remain a Jewish, democratic state is if the Palestinians have a demilitarised state,” a point that is most likely to be rejected by the Palestinians. The advertisement was sponsored by S. Daniel Abraham of the Centre for Middle East Peace.
Meanwhile, in a landmark victory for the Palestinian leadership, according to Ma’an, a Palestinian news agency, the UN Human Rights Council passed four resolutions, one of which will draw up a “blacklist” of companies who do business in illegal Israeli-occupied colonies on Palestinian territory. Another adopted resolution recognised the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
What may be disheartening for all is the warning of the UN’s top Mideast envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, telling the UN Security Council that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “is slipping through our fingers” as a result of Israel’s colony-building and confiscation of Palestinian land.
Nevertheless, the Quartet Mideast mediators — the UN, the US, European Union and Russia — are reportedly expected in the next few months to come up with a report covering the situation on the ground.
George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com
