The Phoney Peace: Business as Usual

The months following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany at the beginning of WW II was a period of deceptive quiet, known as the ‘phoney war’. And although the Arab 21st century renaissance has only just begun it’s clear the possible scriptwriters of any more meaningful steps towards comprehensive peace in the Middle East in both Washington and Tel Aviv are still operating along the parameters of previous (and now largely obsolete) calculations.

For instance yesterday we had the US come out with the usual doublespeak:

The United States on Friday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory after the Palestinians refused to withdraw the Arab-drafted text.

The other 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution. But the United States, as one of the five permanent council members with the power to block any action by the Security Council, voted against it and struck it down.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told council members that the veto "should not be misunderstood to mean we support settlement activity." She added that the U.S. view is that Israeli settlements lack legitimacy.

But she said the draft "risks hardening the position of both sides" and reiterated the U.S. position that settlements and other contentious issues should be resolved in direct peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, speaking on behalf of Britain, France and Germany, condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "They are illegal under international law," he said.

Rice, later interviewed on Jeera, added cryptically that (paraphrasing slightly) 'passing the resolution could possibly lead to more settlements being built and where would we be then?' Answer: up shit creek without a paddle where we’ve been for at least 20 years now, thanks largely to the US’s approach to Israel/Palestine. In another context (still on Jeera) an American observer stated (with regards to Haiti) that ‘American Foreign Policy makers live on the moon’. Really? That nearby?

And a few days ago, Ehud Barak, Zion’s Defense minister, told the AOF’s newly appointed Chief Benny Gantz that:

"Hezbollah remembers the heavy beating they suffered from us in 2006, but it is not forever, and you may be called to enter again," Barak told the IDF soldiers, adding that "we must be prepared for every test."

Zion's Mad Dog deterrency must be maintained at all cost, you see? And still they wonder why their country is considered a splinter through the Arab world...