Editoral-‘Tectonic rift’ Dawn Editorial

If there is a ‘tectonic rift’ in US-Israel relations, as claimed by the Israeli ambassador in Washington, one can be reasonably sure that Tel Aviv will not be much of a loser. What has irritated Israel is that under the Obama administration it is missing the traditional ease with which it has been used to getting things done in Washington. For instance, the Bush administration turned the other cheek when the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, having signed the Annapolis declaration along with President George Bush and other world leaders, returned home from Maryland only to declare that he was not bound by the agreement. The Israel lobby is still in place in the corridors of power in Washington, and let us note that in spite of the tremendous pressure from the Obama administration on Israel to halt settlement activity, the Likud government has not obliged.

In fact, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama have met several times but it is the Likud leader who has been victorious on every occasion. In his historic address to the Muslim world from Cairo last year, Mr Obama asked Israel categorically to stop the West Bank’s colonisation. But Israel didn’t respond. The 1993 Oslo accords, the 2003 road map and the 2007 Annapolis declaration have all foundered on the rock of Israeli intransigence.

In the ultimate analysis, the world has to accept one truth: America’s Middle East policy is hostage to its domestic politics. All administrations have put up with this reality and the Obama administration, despite its lofty declarations, is no exception. Mr Netanyahu is going to have another meeting with Mr Obama soon but one can rest assured that, despite the ‘tectonic rift’, Israel will continue to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Palestinian land and America’s two-state solution will remain a dream.

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