Israel & Palestine

Gregg and I have been wondering for a couple of days how the United States would respond to being publicly embarrassed by an Israeli government that seems bent on continuing with the expansion of illegal settlements even as the West tries to organize highly sensitive negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

We didn't have to wait that long: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a 43-minute phone conversation on Friday morning to rebuke the Israeli leader about the "deeply negative signal" his government sent by approving more settler homes in East Jerusalem. Could this be the first sign of a tougher Obama administration approach toward Israel?

I thought about writing a long rebuttal to these two Aaron David Miller pieces, but after keeping up with a week of tiresome news from Israel I just don't have the energy.

Suffice it to say that his argument -- Obama shouldn't pick a fight with Israel over East Jerusalem settlements, and instead should focus on restarting proximity talks -- is the triumph of process over peace. Miller literally encourages both sides to "continue the dance," to perpetuate the untenable status quo.

In the wake of Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, a Knesset committee on Thursday endorsed a change to the country's planning procedures aimed at preventing a similarly embarrassing episode of bad timing from occurring again, the AP reports.

Within 24 hours of Biden's arrival, shortly after the Palestinians had agreed to so-called "proximity talks," Israel approved the construction of some 1,600 illegal homes in Palestinian East Jerusalem.

But the proposed change in the Knesset isn't meant to give greater scrutiny to settlement decisions; it's supposed to ensure that the timing of such announcements isn't as embarrassing in the future.

U.S. vice president Joe Biden is wrapping up his Middle East trip with a visit to Petra, in Jordan. A little sightseeing might be a welcome relief after a tumultuous week in Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The phrase "turning point" is grossly overused, but this week really feels like a watershed in the region -- and not at all in a good way. Few observers had high hopes for the Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks, but now even that modest dialogue appears off the table. The announcement that Israel is planning another 50,000 homes in East Jerusalem will poison any future talks: How can the Palestinian side negotiate when tens of thousands of illegal homes are considered non-negotiable?

Joe Biden's harsh condemnation of the new construction at Ramot Shlomo -- but the timing of the announcement still made the United States look weak and unwilling to confront Israel.

We'd like to blog about Joe Biden's Tel Aviv speech, but the White House still hasn't e-mailed a transcript to reporters (perhaps because it was undergoing some last-minute revisions?).

News reports say Biden urged Israel and the Palestinians to begin proximity talks without delay. But they're already in doubt: The Arab League held an emergency meeting in Cairo last night (عربي), and decided to withdraw its support for the talks because of the new construction in Ramot Shlomo.

Israel's interior minister, Eli Yishai, has apologized for the announcement of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem's Ramot Shlomo neighborhood while U.S. vice president Joe Biden is in Israel -- though not for the decision itself.

Bernard Avishai is right that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take meaningful steps to advance his "economic peace" agenda. There's little downside -- as Avishai writes, Bibi can do these things "without endangering Israelis or even removing settlers" -- and a growing economy will help to reinforce stronger Palestinian institutions.

Economic peace is not a replacement for meaningful peace talks, of course; an occupied territory with a vibrant economy is still an occupied territory. But bolstering the Palestinian economy would be good policy for Netanyahu, and it would buy him a bit of needed international goodwill.

So much for the velvet glove. The White House -- which obviously recognizes that the latest new construction in East Jerusalem has the potential to overshadow vice president Joe Biden's entire trip -- put out a harsh statement on the Israeli decision.

It's just a statement, of course, and not backed by any real consequences, but by diplomatic standards -- and the standards of Washington's recent statements on Israeli settlements -- it's rather strong. Full statement is after the jump.

The Israeli government continues to roll out the red carpet for U.S. vice president Joe Biden: Israel's interior ministry just announced the approval of 1,600 new homes in East Jerusalem's largely-haredi Ramot Shlomo neighborhood. (The neighborhood is actually north of Jerusalem proper, but it's on the Palestinian side of the Green Line.)

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office hasn't said anything yet about the new construction, nor has Biden.

But the decision will clearly be a big story in Arabic-language media, and it will figure prominently in any coverage of Biden's visit. Al-Jazeera is treating it as a breaking news item, and it's already catching on (عربي) in Palestinian sources. Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, called it a "disaster" that will undermine proximity talks.

Evan added some details overnight to my post on Israel's latest West Bank settlement construction, including a statement from State Department spokesman PJ Crowley. State belatedly sent reporters a full transcript of Crowley's remarks -- and, as Evan said, it's pretty lukewarm stuff.

U.S. vice president Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Monday ahead of a week-long trip to the Middle East. The Obama administration is billing this as a hugely important trip -- a chance to lay the groundwork for "proximity talks" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and also a chance to speak directly to the Israeli people. And indeed, the White House announced on Monday that both sides had agreed to the talks.

President Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, arrived in Ramallah last night to begin "pre-talks" to the "proximity talks" the United States hopes will occur between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the National reports. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone who has much faith in their ultimate success.

My suspicion is that the Palestinian Authority views "proximity talks" as a test for the Obama administration's willingness to impose consequences on Israel. PA officials have hinted at using the talks to "reveal Israel's true intentions to the world."

And the administration seems to understand that dynamic: Ha'aretz reports this morning that Washington "will assign blame" if the talks fall apart.

Another Friday, another violent confrontation in Jerusalem: As many as 50 Palestinians were injured (عربي) by rubber bullets and tear gas during a riot at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. It's the second battle at the mosque in less than a week.

The Arab League -- meeting today in Cairo -- voted to endorse "proximity talks" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. American mediators, presumably led by George Mitchell, will shuttle between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

John Holmes, the United Nations' chief humanitarian official, visited Gaza today and held a press conference. He also did an interview with Al-Jazeera, the video of which is after the jump. Holmes talks about some limited signs of "progress" in Gaza: There's a factory recycling rubble into cement (new cement, of course, being prohibited by the Israelis), and other Gazans are building mud huts to replace their demolished dwellings. This is what constitutes progress in Gaza in 2010.

And here's the thing -- nobody cares. The Arabic-language media covered his visit -- here (عربي), for example -- but it got basically no press in the West. The immoral and illegal Gaza blockade grinds on, the people of Gaza continue to suffer, and nobody's really paying attention, or pressuring Israel to stop.

There are still many unanswered questions about the Mahmoud al-Mabhouh assassination, but one thing is clear: Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Dubai police chief, really enjoys the media spotlight.

Tamim, who's had more airtime than Larry King over the last few weeks, called another press conference today to urge Mossad chief Meir Dagan to "be a man" and admit his organization killed Mabhouh. Tamim also admitted today that it will be "very difficult" to catch the killers without help from Western countries (عربي).

Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat, last seen trying to dodge a lawful court order to tear down an illegal apartment complex in East Jerusalem, made what was expected to be a controversial announcement this morning regarding the future of Silwan, a mostly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Barkat planned to announce a redevelopment plan for the neighborhood: 22 homes would be demolished to make room for a park and a "business district" with hotels and shops.

You've probably heard that the Israeli planning commission last week approved 600 new homes in Pisgat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem. Pisgat Ze'ev is another one of those settlements, like Gilo, which is mostly Jewish and therefore unlikely to return to Palestinian control in a two-state settlement. So I'm not at all surprised by the commission's decision.

Here's a funny headline to start your Monday morning: Fayyad is inciting violence.

Fayyad would be Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, who's routinely called an Israeli collaborator (and far worse) by his countrymen. But unnamed IDF sources are whispering to the Jerusalem Post that Fayyad is trying to incite an intifada -- because he decided to hold his weekly cabinet meeting in Hebron (عربي), a small act of protest against Israel's decision to list the Tomb of the Patriarchs as a national heritage site.