US
Secretary of State
Antony Blinken’s tour of Egypt, Israel, and the occupied
territories this week has become a salvaging mission.
اضافة اعلان
Blinken’s
visit came days after a spate of violence erupted in the Jenin refugee camp.
Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, followed by a shooting in an east
Jerusalem settlement that killed eight Israelis. The situation between
Israel and the Palestinians has become so explosive that as Blinken called for
de-escalation on Monday, clashes were taking place all over the occupied West
Bank.
Originally,
Blinken’s visit was scheduled before Israeli soldiers stormed Jenin Camp last
week and before a lone Palestinian youth from East Jerusalem shot at Israelis —
apparently in retaliation. It was also before a 13-year-old Palestinian
resident of Silwan shot and injured three Israeli settlers in the Arab
neighborhood on Friday.
The
attacks promoted
Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right ministers to quickly
promise harsher measures against Palestinians, even those who are citizens of
Israel. And Blinken’s attempt to convince Netanyahu to contain his far-right
National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who is waging an open war on
Palestinians, will be short-lived.
While the Biden administration can only pay lip service to the cause of peace and a two-state solution, the reality is that it has no stomach to push for a resumption of political talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Ben
Gvir is calling for arming all Jewish settlers, easing army rules of engagement
when confronting Palestinian protests, and introducing the death penalty
against those convicted of
killing Israelis. He is also calling for the sealing
off houses of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem and expanding the policy
demolitions, withdrawing citizenships from families of those associated with
“terror” attacks, and passing a law expelling Arab Knesset members who support
the resistance against occupation.
Ben
Gavir also has the support of other Cabinet ministers and a majority of Knesset
members.
Here
is the irony: while Blinken was telling Netanyahu that there was a need to
improve the lives of Palestinians and take steps towards implementing the
two-state solution,
Israeli soldiers were storming Nablus, Hebron, Shufat,
Mukaber, and blockading Jericho while Jewish settlers were carrying out revenge
attacks.
By
noon on Monday, 35 attacks against Palestinians were reported, leaving cars and
homes torched and roads cut off.
If
Blinken cannot pressure the Israelis, he must do so with the Palestinians. Before
meeting President Abbas, CIA Director William Burns was in Ramallah on Sunday,
apparently to convince the Palestinians to restore security coordination with
Israel — the only thing left of the Oslo Accords that
Israel recognizes. He
also wanted to warn Abbas not to pursue the path of applying for membership in
additional international organizations.
Blinken’s
visit to Israel, the first after Netanyahu formed the most extremist government
in Israel’s history, was supposed to pre-empt escalation between Israel and the
Palestinians, especially before the holy month of Ramadan.
But
Netanyahu’s far-right partners had other plans.
For
Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, escalation was an immediate
goal to implement election promises. These include expanding settlements,
ending the historical status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the complete
judaization of East Jerusalem. This was to happen by getting rid of the city’s
indigenous Arab residents.
The fact is that the coming months will be the most dangerous for the Palestinians in a long time. A hawkish Israeli government will be bent on breaking Palestinian will in any way it can.
Naturally,
there is no room for a Palestinian state in the new
Israeli government's view
and that of those who voted for them.
The
question is how long can Netanyahu, who is facing an unprecedented popular
backlash for backing controversial judicial reforms that are seen as
undemocratic, keep his far-right ministers in control? He needs the coalition
to stay intact until such reforms, which will end judicial oversight and bring
his trial for corruption to a close, are passed.
To
deflect attention from the growing public opposition to his government, an
opportunistic Netanyahu has no qualms with allowing his maverick ministers to
instigate a crisis with the Palestinians in the West Bank or even with Gaza.
Surely, following last weekend's bloody events, the number of
Israelis protesting his government last Saturday dropped by more than half.
While
the Biden administration can only pay lip service to the cause of peace and a
two-state solution, the reality is that it has no stomach to push for a
resumption of political talks between
Israel and the Palestinians. The White
House is focused on the war in Ukraine and containing Russia, and it will allow
Israel to engage the Iranians through clandestine operations.
Besides,
in a few months, the US will become embroiled in the upcoming presidential
elections, and the administration will become indifferent to what Netanyahu and
his goons will do.
The
fact is that the coming months will be the most dangerous for the Palestinians
in a long time. A hawkish
Israeli government will be bent on breaking
Palestinian will in any way it can. It will trample on international law and
cast aside any criticism or rebuke from any side. Palestinians, on the other
hand, will have no one to turn to.
Ironically,
and after more than 55 years of brutal occupation, Israel has failed to
subjugate or force Palestinians to surrender. This time will be no different.
It
is a zero-sum formula whose results will never change. All that is happening,
in reality, is that Israel itself is changing from the inside and is shedding
its democratic façade to reveal its true soul.
Osama
Al Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman.
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