Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., August 25, 2009 Elul 5, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:23 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Focus U.S.A. Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Focus on the essence
By Haaretz Editorial
Tags: Israel News, Settlements 

U.S. President Barack Obama intends in about a month to present his initiative for peace in the Middle East, at the heart of which is the renewal of negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, this time with active American mediation. Obama's envoy, George Mitchell, is to meet this week in London with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to reach an understanding about the freezing of construction in the settlements, in exchange for which the Arab countries would move toward normalization of ties with Israel. These mutual steps are intended to create a new and conciliatory atmosphere in the region, which would leverage the diplomatic process.

Stopping the momentum of construction and settlement expansion in the West Bank is not an Israeli concession to the Americans or the Palestinians. Rather, it is in Israel's own interest. The time has come to put an end to the huge wastes of the settlement project, which only damages Israel diplomatically and security-wise, deepening the conflict and threatening to cause the two-state solution to fail. Netanyahu also seems to grasp the diplomatic reality, even if he is still not prepared to say so, as evinced by his decision not to issue new construction permits in the settlements, even without a formal declaration of a construction freeze.

If, in exchange for the freezing of construction in the settlements, Netanyahu manages to obtain a renewal of ties with the Gulf states that were severed during the intifada and Operation Cast Lead, it would be an Israeli tactical and diplomatic achievement. However, the cessation of construction must not be conditioned on the renewal of such ties. More importantly, Israel must not try once again to pull any fast ones in the form of of pretexts, and new terminology for continued development beyond the Green Line and provocative settlements in East Jerusalem. Israel must freeze construction without circumventions and provocations.
Advertisement
A construction freeze is not the goal, but the means to helping reach the essence: an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to end hostilities and the realization of the two-state solution, which even the prime minister now supports.

In his meeting this week with Mitchell, Netanyahu needs to focus on removing obstacles that delay the renewal of talks with the Palestinians, instead of continuing to insist on limited construction in the settlements. If Netanyahu wants an agreement with the Palestinians, as he promised, he must save his political strength for the unavoidable conflict with his partners on the right - not wear it down in detrimental feuding with the United States.
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Militant diplomacy
Lieberman: Foreign Ministry should accept only ex-IDF soldiers as cadets.
Madoff 'dying'
New York Post: Madoff tells cellmates he has terminal cancer.
Special Offers
Advertisement
Dead Sea Salt
From the Dead Sea Coupon cofe Haaretz for 10% off!
hotel Jerusalem
David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
Master's Program in Desert Studies
An innovative, multidisciplinary, international program specialized in Desert Research
Dead Sea Cosmetics .Summer Specials
Velvet Hand Cream just $14.90
Handmade In Tel Aviv
Itay Noy, Timepiece Maker
ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
21:47 U.S. says it's closer to Israel-Palestinian talks
22:41 Israeli TV broadcasts footage of Hamas men executing rebels
19:35 Lieberman: Foreign Min. should accept only ex-IDF soldiers as cadets
21:20 Sweden newspaper editor: I'm not a Nazi, I'm not anti-Semitic
20:53 Israel prevents Palestinian families from visiting jailed kin
19:55 Report: Madoff tells cellmates he's dying of cancer
23:02 New Jersey town wants to ban Gadhafi from staying at local site
22:49 TV ROUND-UP: TA stocks soar, swine flu kills, Israel and Sweden spar
11:35 Hamas to expel Gaza schoolgirls not wearing Muslim dress
10:51 Tarantino's massacre of Nazis brings rave reviews in Germany
16:35 Ex-chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu hospitalized after fainting
15:56 Petah Tikva parents mull school strike unless Ethiopian kids admitted
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved