Many thanks to Howard Lenow for keeping things running while I was gone. Hope he’ll continue to post now and then along with me. I understand Semitism.net went down for a while in the middle of the week. Apparantly someone was trying to hack into the site. No damage done.
I spent my vacation reading The Iron Wall, Avi Shlaim’s history of Israeli foreign policy. Very eye-opening. Will be writing much more about that.
I come back to find this interesting juxtaposition. From the Associated Press,
Militant groups have agreed to suspend attacks as they near a formal truce deal with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and await Israel’s response, a senior Palestinian official said Monday.
The militants’ promise came after Israeli leaders said Sunday that Israel is ready to hold its fire if calm prevails, moving the two sides closer to ending four years of bloody conflict.
Meanwhile, from Reuters,
Israel resumed building one of the most controversial parts of its West Bank barrier, deep in occupied land, in a move Palestinians said Monday clouded new President Mahmoud Abbas’s efforts to revive peacemaking.
Israel’s attorney-general approved construction of the 4-km (2.5 mile) segment along a new route near the large Jewish settlement of Ariel after residents of the adjacent Palestinian village of Salfit petitioned a court against land expropriation.
“How we are going to convince our people and factions that we are trying to end Israeli occupation while Israel is imposing facts on the ground,” Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.
“This will have a deep and negative impact on our efforts to reach a cease-fire.”
Abbas has been remarkably effective since taking office, from what I can see. He has been true to his word, moving quickly to stop the rocket attacks from Gaza, and brokering a ceasefire with the militant groups.
Why would Israel choose this moment to resume construction of the wall around Ariel, which is deep in the center of the West Bank? Sharon is a master of provocation. My guess is that he will make the requisite public statements of support for Abbas, while taking measures he knows will inflame anti-Israeli sentiment and prompt retaliation from the militants. He needs such violence to maintain Israeli and international opinion against the Palestinians.
He knows that at the end of the Road Map is a Palestinian state in the West Bank, and he does not intend to give up an inch of that land. I believe that his goal, at present, is to keep things stalled at the “Palestinians must renounce violence” phase, while consolidating Israel’s territorial holdings.
The last thing he wants is a partner for peace.
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