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What Peace Process?

What Peace Process?

After many years and a lot of prodding from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Israelis and the Palestinians will be resuming peace talks. Both sides are moving forward reluctantly, and with little optimism toward a successful outcome.

Abbas had initially demanded an official settlement freeze before coming to the table, something that Netanyahu has refused.

In what is being called an “apparent tradeoff,” Israel will instead release 104 Palestinian prisoners, some of them citizens of Israel, and many with Israeli blood on their hands. The first round of 26 prisoners to be released was announced, and 17 of them were convicted of murdering Israelis. One killed a Holocaust survivor.

Netanyahu now presides over the “most right wing Likud in history” and his coalition further depends on appeasing Yisrael Beitanu (a part of the current Likud) and Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home). The former believes in a two-state solution but supports settlement expansion. The latter rejects the two-state solution outright.

Days before Israelis and Palestinians are set to resume talks, Israel Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel, a member of Jewish Home, has given final approval for the construction of 1,187 new housing units to be built in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. His announcement came with the following statement:

“No country in the world takes orders from other countries where it can build and where it can’t. We will continue to market the homes, and to build in the entire country. This is the right thing at the present time, for Zionism and for the economy.”

Naftali Bennet, head of Jewish Home, came out with a statement of his own:

“We will continue building, and you will see this soon. I am sending the message from here to all the parties in the negotiations: The land of Israel belongs to the nation of Israel.”

These new units will be built within pre-existing neighborhoods and already established blocs of Israeli settlements, and many will be in areas expected to be retained by Israel in an eventual settlement. But some lie much farther from the Green Line, in areas that, if annexed by Israel, would do much to hamper the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state.

Netanyahu has also been frustrated by Abbas who stated recently that “In a final resolution [Palestinians] would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands.”

In response, Netanyahu wrote Kerry a letter stating that “incitement and peace cannot coexist…Rather than educate the next generation of Palestinians to live in peace with Israel, this hate education poisons them against Israel and lays the ground for continued violence, terror and conflict.”

Kerry was determined to bring the parties together and it took no small amount of effort (or political capital) on his end in order to do so. He has laid out his goal — if not his plan — of a peace deal in nine months. Neither party seems excited to be joining him and pessimism is running high amongst Israelis, Palestinians and Americans.

The parties should have much to discuss when they come together in Jerusalem later this week. At this point, a win might be that in nine months, they are still speaking to each other. Unfortunately, even that seems unlikely.

Follow me on twitter @jlemonsk

 

Author

Josh Klemons

Josh Klemons has an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution with a concentration in the Middle East from American University. He has lived, worked and studied in Israel and done extensive traveling throughout the region. He once played music with Hadag Nachash.

He now works as a digital storyteller/strategist with brands on finding, honing and telling their stories online. Follow him on twitter @jlemonsk and check him out at www.joshklemons.com.