It has always been a puzzle, if not a worrisome issue, that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has never, since Israel expanded militarily into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a result of the 1967 war, revealed any ideas about a final border settlement with the Palestinians. In violation of international law, the Israeli government has arrogantly and illegally expanded into the Occupied Territories, establishing to date some 500 Jewish colonies. In turn, the Palestinians agreed in 2002 in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative to establish their state on only 28 per cent of Palestine, rather than the 45 per cent granted to them under the 1948 partition plan endorsed by the United Nations. What should be more fortunate for Israel is that 57 Arab and Muslim states, including Iran, endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative and are willing to establish diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv.
All the western powers, particularly the US, have never since 1967 prodded the Israeli government about this issue except to maintain publicly that the colonies were illegally established on occupied land and, presumably, should be returned to the Palestinians when a final peace agreement is reached.
But Netanyahu, as always, had another distraction up his sleeve, when his cabinet last Sunday approved what the New York Times described as a “contentious draft legislation that emphasises Israel’s Jewish character above its democratic nature in a move that critics said could undermine the fragile relationship with the country’s Arab minority at time of heightened tensions”.
Haaretz, the liberal Israeli daily, described the proposed “Basic Law” — meant to serve as the basis for an eventual constitution — as having a “most obvious problem”, in that it makes “constitutional the second-class status of Arab citizens”, who account for more than 20 per cent of the population. “Netanyahu’s bill”, continued Haaretz, “does mention democracy and individual rights, but it does not refer to the equality of all Israel’s citizens”. In other words, “by tying Israel’s identity only to one people, it gives them constitutional privileges no other community can have access to”. This proposal, drafted by several right-wing cabinet members, can revoke the rights of residents who “participate in terrorism or incitement against the State of Israel”, an obvious reference to the Palestinians who live in occupied East Jerusalem.
The revival of the suspended Israeli practice of demolishing homes of young Palestinian agitators, as has been reported lately, is, to say the least, an unfair and a cruel practice since these homes are owned by their parents and not the children. The recent deadly attack on a Jewish synagogue, where five Israelis were killed, is no comparison to what an American-born Israeli doctor, Baruch K. Goldstein, did in Hebron 20 years ago. He entered a mosque in Hebron and opened fire, killing 29 worshippers and wounding more than 125. At Goldstein’s funeral, rabbi Yaakov Perrin claimed that even one million Arabs are “not worth a Jewish fingernail”. For several years, Israelis came to his tomb in Hebron to celebrate his sordid action. The Israeli army dismantled the shrine in 1999.
Much to the surprise of Israelis, critical international reaction nowadays to Tel Aviv’s policies has been abundant. Dahlia Scheindlin, an Israeli analyst and pollster, told the New York Times: “Israel is losing Europe on three levels: Public opinion has shifted decidedly against Israel in most European Union (EU) countries, the EU itself is increasingly thinking about and implementing policies against Israel’s presence in the West Bank and, most recently, the waves of parliamentary discussions and votes in favour of recognising Palestinian statehood.”
Various European representatives at the United Nations are reportedly seriously hoping to draft a resolution at the United Nations Security Council, urging the resumption of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis. Whether this effort will yield any significant result remains to be seen. One step that is overdue is admitting the Palestinian National Authority to the UN. If this step is adopted, Netanyahu will have to reveal his thinking about a settlement.
George S. Hishmeh is a Washington-based columnist. He can be contacted at ghishmeh@gulfnews.com
