Israel Improvements Inadequate

Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton about-faced from her previous demand that the construction of new settlements in the West Bank be completely frozen, praising the moderate slow down in the build up of Israeli settlements by hard-line Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “unprecedented” progress.

That statement was a slap in the face to the Palestinian people and their Arab allies.
 
It is estimated by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics that 295,380 Israeli settlers live in Palestinian territory in the West Bank, not including many more living across the Palestinian border in East Jerusalem. 

Unfortunately, after a long series of wrongs committed by both sides in this ridiculously long-running conflict, most of the territory originally dedicated to the Palestinians is now owned by Israel.

In addition to this territory occupied after the 1949 Armistice, the state of Israel exerts direct and exclusive administrative control over 60 percent of the territory of the West Bank and exercises limited control over an additional 21 percent. This means that Israel has exclusive or partial administrative control over 84 percent of Palestinian territory in the West Bank, areas including almost half of the population of the territory.  
Forty percent of the West Bank is completely inaccessible to Palestinians. These burdensome restrictions on free movement within the Palestinians’ own territory have gravely affected the economy of the West Bank and have made access to health care, educational opportunities and other public services incredibly difficult or even completely impossible. 

Additionally, acts of violence in the West Bank between settlers and Palestinians disproportionately affect Palestinians. According to data from the United Nations, in the first 10 months of 2008, 290 incidents were recorded of violent acts by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. Just 12 attacks by Palestinians against Israelis in the West Bank were recorded during the same period. 

If the U.S. really wants to rebuild its completely tattered relationship with the Muslim world, as this administration has rightfully asserted that it should, this is the last way to go about doing it. There is no other issue in the world that creates more distance between the U.S. and the Muslim world than our stubbornly blind support for the state of Israel.

We should continue to strongly support Israel’s existence, encourage Arab states to normalize relations with it and speak out when it is unfairly attacked. But we should never, ever offer blind and unconditional support for the actions of any nation – especially when the consequences are so negative.

If the U.S. wants to improve its relations with the Muslim world, it has to start with Palestine. Israeli improvements in the settlement situation are inadequate, and official U.S. policy ought to reflect that.