Palestinians must not back down
US administration has failed to put any pressure on its 'closest ally' in the region
The latest Middle East formula set out by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for the resumption of peace talks without pre-conditions is inherently flawed. That Clinton is asking the Palestinians to drop their rightful demands in order to meet again with the Israelis is unjust and will ultimately damage the peace process.
Palestinians can no longer afford to fall for this trick of talking about smaller issues like borders, while pushing more serious problems like dismantling Israeli colonies and the fate of Occupied Jerusalem to later stages. Meanwhile, Israel gets away with building more colonies and annexing more Palestinian land.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose election brought nothing but setbacks to peace, announced in November a 10-month slowdown of construction in the West Bank, but insisted colony building and expansion in Occupied East Jerusalem would continue. Yet the US administration failed to put any pressure on its "closest ally" in the Middle East and has dug deep to keep the peace talks alive.
It's not like the US has no options when it comes to pushing for results. By all means, the US could impose sanctions on Israel. It could suspend aid altogether.
The point is Palestinians and Israelis have been talking for years with no success. Asking Palestinians to focus on what Israelis want to talk about will cause irreparable damage to the peace process.
