Colonising with impunity
There was hardly any international reaction, or an even Arab reaction for that matter, to the latest Israeli plan to build hundreds of housing units in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority did voice some concern but it was also muted.
It is as if the world has become numb when hearing news about Israeli plans to construct yet more and more houses or apartments on Palestinian land even when they are intended to be located in the heart of the Palestinian territory.
Israel no longer hides its intentions to colonise the north of the West Bank and areas south of Jerusalem, as these are the very areas targeted for building the hundreds of housing units.
Lest we forget, it was this very issue of Jewish settlements that derailed the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians more than a year ago.
Yet this pattern of defiance continues with impunity as far as one can see.
The sole weapon left in the hands of the Palestinians is to go to the UN General Assembly in September and seek recognition as an independent state within the 1967 borders. But even that is not guaranteed in the face of stiff opposition, not only from Israel itself but also from the US and a handful of other pro-Israel countries.
So where do the Palestinians go from here, with all doors to a peaceful resolution of their conflict remaining tightly shut for as far as they can see.
We see, and even smell, trouble taking place ahead as the Arab Spring may also spread to the West Bank sooner than the world thinks.
Maybe then, and only then, will the international community, including the US, turn its attention once again to the Palestinian plight and prevent an outbreak of yet another flare up that cannot be contained.
26 July 2011
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