The week started off on the wrong foot, at least from a Palestinian perspective, with the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 14. During his address at the Bar Ilan University Netanyahu basically told the Palestinians that they would never have their independent and sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital. Nor would refugees be allowed to return home, nor would settlements stop growing. The best they could hope for is a "state" without designated borders and which is completely demilitarized.
Netanyahu, who called on Palestinians to enter peace negotiations without preconditions, was sure to clarify that this did not apply to the Israelis. Conditions were ample on that side, with Netanyahu saying the Palestinians would first have to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and that Israel would not adhere to a total freeze in settlement building, a snub aimed at US President Barack Obama. What Netanyahu did say was that Israel would not build any new settlements or expand the already existing ones. However, he also would not bar Israeli settlers to live a normal life, i.e. building to accommodate "natural growth."
No doubt, the Israeli premier put the blame of all the previously failed peace efforts squarely on the Palestinians. "The closer we get to a peace agreement with them, the more they are distancing themselves from peace. They raise new demands. They are not showing us that they want to end the conflict." He cited the 1947 Partition plan, which the Arabs and Palestinian rejected, the Gaza withdrawal, which was met, according to him, with terror from Hamas in addition to maintaining that the refugee problem should be solved "outside the borders of the State of Israel."
Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu's speech was not warmly welcomed by the Palestinians or Arabs. President Mahmoud Abbas said Netanyahu's policy speech basically sabotaged every peace initiative on the table and would never lead to a comprehensive and peaceful settlement since he did not recognize Jerusalem as an Arab capital. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was also extremely critical, saying the Israeli leader offered the Palestinians "the peace of the slaves".
Only the United States had something positive to say. A White House spokesperson called Netanyahu's speech "a step forward", but saying there was still much to be done. Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator slashed the speech, saying Netanyahu posed five no's: no to the principle of two states; no to the halt of settlements; no to the vision of US President Obama on a new Middle East; no to the resumption of final status negotiations from the point they ended; and no to the Arab Peace Initiative. "I don't know what kind of negotiations Netanyahu wants?" Erekat asked. "The deaf and blind understood his speech."
The Arabs were hardly pleased either. Former Lebanese President Amin Jemayyel said Netanyahu obliterated the right of return, which contradicts with UN Resolution 194. Jemayyel pointed out the ramifications of this on Lebanon, which is basically the move to resettle Palestinian refugees abroad (including Lebanon) which is unacceptable.
Still, the US is clinging to the hope that it can push the parties together in peace talks, regardless of the gaps. On June 17, US Special Envoy George Mitchell wrapped up his fourth visit to the region since taking office, saying he does not rule out holding a summit similar that the one held in Annapolis in November, 2007. He also said before leaving that he felt talks would resume "not in months, but in weeks."
This seems extremely optimistic if Israeli words and actions are considered. On June 19, after a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused the Palestinians of using the settlement issue as an "excuse" to avoid peace talks. He also said he believed Israel and the US could settle their differences on the settlement issue without further tension.
His statements came just days after the Israeli media claimed a US official has reported that the US would be flexible on the settlement issue. Mitchell later denied the report, saying the administration's stance on settlements had not changed. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also reiterated the US position, saying, "a total freeze of settlements is an important and necessary step to achieve comprehensive peace."
Erekat seconded this motion and went a step further. "There is no such thing as acceptable or unacceptable settlements. They are all illegal under international law," he said. "This is not a technical issue by which some houses can be built here or there."
While Israel continues to insist that natural growth be allowed in Jewish settlements, this is not the case with Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, who continue to receive demolition orders from Israeli authorities. On June 19, Mohammed Juba' from the Old City was forced to demolish an addition to his 50-year old home on the grounds that he did not obtain the proper licensing to build it 12 years ago. If he did not demolish it on his own, he would have had to pay the demolition fees, amounting in the thousands of shekels, to the municipality.
A day earlier, 20 demolition orders were handed to residents of Beit Hanina also under the pretext of illegal construction, while seven final demolition orders were delivered to families in Silwan's Bustan Quarter.
On June 15, Israeli authorities handed a demolition order to a family in Aqraba, near Nablus, also on the same grounds.
Over in the Gaza Strip, things are hardly looking up, even months after the end of Israel's Cast Lead Operation there. Former US President Jimmy Carter visited the Strip on June 16 and expressed "grief, despair and anger" at the devastation left behind Israel's invasion, saying the Palestinians were being "treated like animals." Carter met with top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders as long as it is fully sovereign. Carter also carried a letter from the parents of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which he handed to Hamas leaders. Carter, who supports the establishment of two states, called on Palestinians to end their internal split.
On that note, on June 16, Fateh leader in Gaza said Hamas and Fateh leaders held reconciliation meetings in Gaza and the West Bank days earlier in preparation for the upcoming talks in Cairo.
Two days earlier, Ahmad Qurei' announced that a new round of dialogue would start on June 28 in the Egyptian capital, to be followed by an invitation to all factions on July 5. Qurei' continued that an agreement would hopefully be signed on July 7 ending the split. Meanwhile, he said, the two sides agreed to stop media campaigns against one another.
Still, Gazans can look forward to even more difficult times. According to Hamoked on June 16, an Israeli human rights organization, Israel has implemented stringent procedures for Gazans to live in the West Bank. Under the new procedure, there is a seven-year "naturalization" process that Palestinians who wish to move from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank must undergo before they are allowed residency. This is despite the fact that according to the Oslo Accords Palestinians may freely choose their place of residence in the Palestinian territory. This includes children who have been separated from one or more parents for years but do not, according to Israel, constitute a humanitarian case.