December 12, 2009
Thursday night, Dru and I attended a wedding of a classmate of ours in Jerusalem. On the drive from Herzliya to Jerusalem, we past through the infamous Gilo "settlement". As we drove through the Jerusalem suburb, I thought to myself, who advised President Obama that this neighborhood is the same as the settlements in the West Bank? Yes, Gilo rests on the 1967 Green Line but it also sits with in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. A few weeks ago I visited two West Bank settlements and understand that there is a distinct difference between them and neighborhoods in Jerusalem which are entirely more complicated because of the rivaling interests in Jerusalem, as well as the close proximity of Arab and Jewish neighborhoods that nearly overlap one another there. The hype created by the Obama Administration regarding Gilo, which brought about the ten-month moratorium, is infringing on the peace process for both Palestinians and Israelis.
As a result of the Obama Administration's demands for a temporary settlement freeze, Palestinians have adopted a permanent settlement freeze as their official policy and are even urging the U.S. to put pressure on the Israeli government for a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, they are condemning the Israeli government for "buying time" and appeasing the international community which further negates the peace process.
Yesterday, reports stated that Jewish settlers from Tapuah (a West Bank settlement) had vandalized a mosque in the neighboring Palestinian town of Yasuf. Settlers spray-painted harsh statements in Hebrew on the floor of the mosque as well as setting fire to the mosque's library, ruining many Islamic holy books. An article in the Jerusalem Post states that this attack by settlers exhibits their anger and frustration regarding Bibi's moratorium. Unfortunately, the town of Yasuf bore the consequences. While the Israeli government condemns the attack by extremist settlers, this event only hinders the peace process even more than it already is and has inspired more problems on both sides.
If the United States is going to "meddle" in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, then the facts on the ground must be clear; the stakes are high for both Palestinians and Israelis and that includes the populations of both people not just their governments. What appears to encourage fairness, may in fact promote the opposite and that is proving itself in this case. The moratorium thus far has been a lose-lose situation.
Thursday night, Dru and I attended a wedding of a classmate of ours in Jerusalem. On the drive from Herzliya to Jerusalem, we past through the infamous Gilo "settlement". As we drove through the Jerusalem suburb, I thought to myself, who advised President Obama that this neighborhood is the same as the settlements in the West Bank? Yes, Gilo rests on the 1967 Green Line but it also sits with in the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. A few weeks ago I visited two West Bank settlements and understand that there is a distinct difference between them and neighborhoods in Jerusalem which are entirely more complicated because of the rivaling interests in Jerusalem, as well as the close proximity of Arab and Jewish neighborhoods that nearly overlap one another there. The hype created by the Obama Administration regarding Gilo, which brought about the ten-month moratorium, is infringing on the peace process for both Palestinians and Israelis.
As a result of the Obama Administration's demands for a temporary settlement freeze, Palestinians have adopted a permanent settlement freeze as their official policy and are even urging the U.S. to put pressure on the Israeli government for a two-state solution with pre-1967 borders including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, they are condemning the Israeli government for "buying time" and appeasing the international community which further negates the peace process.
Yesterday, reports stated that Jewish settlers from Tapuah (a West Bank settlement) had vandalized a mosque in the neighboring Palestinian town of Yasuf. Settlers spray-painted harsh statements in Hebrew on the floor of the mosque as well as setting fire to the mosque's library, ruining many Islamic holy books. An article in the Jerusalem Post states that this attack by settlers exhibits their anger and frustration regarding Bibi's moratorium. Unfortunately, the town of Yasuf bore the consequences. While the Israeli government condemns the attack by extremist settlers, this event only hinders the peace process even more than it already is and has inspired more problems on both sides.
If the United States is going to "meddle" in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, then the facts on the ground must be clear; the stakes are high for both Palestinians and Israelis and that includes the populations of both people not just their governments. What appears to encourage fairness, may in fact promote the opposite and that is proving itself in this case. The moratorium thus far has been a lose-lose situation.
