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Resuming Peace Process Hypocrisy to Subvert Palestinian Statehood - by Stephen Lendman
The peace process charade never worked because Washington and Israel deplore it.
On September 20, London Guardian writer Chris McGreal headlined, "Palestinian statehood: plan emerges to avoid UN showdown," saying:
Washington-led "(i)nternational efforts to forestall a showdown in the UN Security Council over the declaration of a Palestinian state are solidifying around a plan for (Abbas) to submit a request for recognition but (agree to) put (a vote) on hold while a new round of peace talks is launched."
The plan also calls for establishing a timeline for creating a Palestinian state. In addition, it'll let Abbas go home saying he got something even with nothing to show for it.
"However, diplomats warned that a number of issues remain unresolved, including a Palestinian demand that" any deal includes halting settlement construction.
On September 22, Netanyahu again refused, saying:
"I did something that no previous Israeli government did. I actually froze any construction for ten months, waited nine months and one week; then Palestinians came and said, well keep on freezing."
In fact, construction never stopped. Israel's land grab continued. In many West Bank settlements, building proceeded apace. Dozens of construction sites remained active.
Moreover, Netanyahu declared a moratorium, not a freeze. Peace Now.org (PN) assessed what went on eight months into it. It found construction ongoing for 600 or more housing units in 60 settlements, and at least 492 others announced in direct violation of Netanyahu's pledge.
Near its end, PN explained that about 2,000 units were being built, saying "almost no freeze" existed, not "even a visible slowdown." It showed Israel wasn't enforcing the moratorium despite its rhetoric to the contrary.
On September 21, Obama met one-on-one with Abbas, telling him what everyone knows - that he'll veto a Security Council resolution if enough opposition votes aren't gotten to avoid one.
Netanyahu appealed for resuming peace talks with no preconditions. An unnamed diplomat said Abbas is amenable, but needs something to bring home to show he didn't come back empty-handed.
Palestinian spokesman Husam Zomlot said he remains committed to petitioning the Security Council Friday, but also wants peace talks resumed.
"There is absolutely no contradiction whatsoever between our quest for (UN) full membership and any possible negotiations," he said. "In fact, we see them as complementary. We are seeking this to provide any future bilateral process with sufficient multilateral cover where we don't waste another 20 years."Abbas appears willing to sacrifice what he came for as long as he has something to show on return, even if it's only restarting peace talks that never worked before and won't now.
