'Special bond' will continue for now

And so we return to the inherent question: Is the two-state solution viable or should Israelis and Americans look at the other option: the one-state solution? There's been a lot of resistance to considering this option, because it would challenge Israel's "Jewish character", which is completely discriminatory against Arabs living in Israel. But, with the continuing display of arrogance from Israel and total disregard for international efforts to reach at a viable peace agreement, one can, unfortunately, conclude that a two-state solution will not see the light of day in the near future.

Following the daunting but expected announcement by Israel that it wanted to expand yet again on one of its existing illegal colonies in occupied East Jerusalem, anyone interested in the peace process was left with a depressing picture. We are now seeing the entire international community, led by the mighty US, having to sweet-talk a hawkish Israel into either delaying its expansionist plans or suppressing them until this period passes. One thing is clear: Israel is no longer placing emphasis on courting the US.

The US initially spoke very harshly against the embarrassing Israeli colony announcement, which coincided with US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to occupied Jerusalem. Even the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, one of Israel's closest friends, criticised the ‘ill-timing' of the announcement. However, within a very short span of time, US language was softened up and we were all reminded of the "unbreakable bond" between Washington and Tel Aviv. Benjamin Netanyahu even visited Washington and attended a dinner hosted in his honour by Biden!

Very few academics in the West have openly challenged the validity of this "special bond" claim, which in theory entails Israel being a strategic asset to the US. One cannot help but wonder, hasn't protecting Israel given the US less security (which provides the link to strategic thinking) over the years? What has Israel done to serve US interests in the region? And when has the Jewish state ever carried out actions that either benefited America or prevented actions that would have harmed it? In fact, Israel's actions in the region have had a very bad impact on the US' reputation and credibility. Remember when it bombed Iraq in 1981, resulting in wide condemnation?

The fact that the US has hundreds of thousands of troops deployed in the region should make it reconsider the validity of this "bond". Besides, this has harmed the US' reputation abroad with people immediately associating it with a country that has murdered thousands of Palestinian civilians and which continues to impose the most inhumane siege on Gaza. The latest Mossad operation in Dubai puts things in perspective in terms of Israel's nonchalant and arrogant attitude.

As Abdel Bari Atwan forcefully argued in his recent Gulf News opinion piece, Israel's Zionist agenda has actually become the number one recruitment tool for radical Islamist groups, much to the detriment of the US.

Perhaps the most crucial and frightening aspect of Israel's major plans in the Middle East is talk of attacking Iran as more and more momentum gathers over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme. Quite simply, this would cause an irreversible damage to the US' standing, should it be given the green light.

Why is Israel still being perceived as America's client state when in practice, it hardly ever listens to its patron? For years, Israel has quietly, but sometimes openly as we saw last week, carried out its own constructed version of negotiations and policies despite international law or agreements and Western opinion. And Netanyahu is not alone. Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin are all examples of leaders maintaining a wide margin of independence (despite Israel's economic, political and military dependence on the US). When the US has been pressured to react to Israeli wrongdoings, it usually used very protective and uncritical language, so as to make it clear to everyone that Israel was off-limits. Why? As simple as it sounds, it all comes down to US domestic politics and the Jewish lobby's enormous power. Every bit of US policy in the Middle East is closely monitored by pro-Israeli lobbies which are aware of their unprecedented level of influence and exercise their authority with ease and confidence.

Given this unnatural but solid alliance between Israel and the US, it is unlikely that the latest spat between the two states will have a major impact on their relations. Quite simply, the Israeli government's colony announcement was stage-managed most likely to distract attention from the proximity talks and buy Israel more time to Judaize occupied Palestinian territory and weaken the possibility of creating a viable and sustainable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. Is there hope? Judging by the extent of effort the US put into hosting Netanyahu over the last few days, very little to none at this point.