Israel’s efforts just don’t cut it

He might have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but even Barack Obama can’t restart peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

In spite of efforts by Obama-appointed envoy George Mitchell, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to continue negotiating with Israel until it halts all construction of new settlements.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a 10-month freeze on settlement in the West Bank, construction on 692 housing units in East Jerusalem is underway. There are already over 2,200 units in predominantly Arab areas.

Although East Jerusalem doesn’t technically belong to the Palestinians, it’s the portion of Jerusalem that Palestine has designated for its potential nation. Netanyahu, however, has declared the splitting of Jerusalem to be off-limits.

Pointing fingers at Palestine for boycotting peace talks while encroaching on Palestinian territory is counterproductive. It only perpetuates the blame game that commenced at Israel’s creation.

It’s also a feeble attempt to mask Netanyahu’s disregard for the issue at hand. Israel hasn’t been complying with international mandates to hold the construction of settlements for the time being. Palestine dropping out of the negotiations is understandable. Why pour time and energy into peace talks when you’re clearly not being heard?

Ironically, halting peace talks was probably the most effective way for Palestine’s point of view to be seen. Palestine gained support, while Israel received pressure from the United States to freeze all construction.

Netanyahu has also prohibited Palestinian refugees from returning to Israel. It’s overwhelmingly hypocritical for Israelis to spill into Arab areas while keeping Palestinian refugees away from their home.

With all of Netanyahu’s pre-set restrictions, an effective peace talk seems unlikely. Discussions are fruitless unless both sides are willing to compromise.

Netanyahu has made it clear that his stance on major issues is non-negotiable, yet he blamed Palestine for the breakdown in peace talks in December 2008. Abbas, on the other hand, has agreed to accommodate some Israeli settlements by trading pieces of land.

While Netanyahu is the first Israeli president to comply with a construction freeze, the effort needs to be stronger. Bulldozing into Arab territory and then blaming Palestine for dropping out of negotiations is the last way for Israel and Palestine to finally be on good terms.

The obvious and fair solution is for Netanyahu to freeze all construction, not just some, until relations between the two parties have progressed. Although that’s only one step on the exhausting road ahead for Israel and Palestine, it’s one that needs to be taken if either country wants to move forward.