Fire in Israel

EVEN as the "positive talks" were under way between the Israeli leaders and Palestinian counterparts in Jerusalem on the most intractable issues in "Peace process", Israeli massacres  were progressing in Gaza strip killing once again the defenseless Palestinians. The alarming number of Palestinians killed so far by Israeli forces alone- this is apart from mutual genocides in Palestine, is no concern of UNSC or the veto wielders of that pro-US organization. This situation is being capitalized by Israeli military to go on rampage every now and then, while discussing peace with Fatah Palestinians. 

It looks as if Israel is too keen to derail any peace move in Middle East because that would reduce its importance for USA in the region and that would negatively impact upon the economy and weapon accumulation in Israel. Israeli foreign minister Ms Livni has made a point exposing its arrogance and the vulnerability of the Palestinians. "Past experience has shown that when talks are held in the limelight they lead to the radicalization of the positions and to the distortion of the things said behind closed doors; to a rise in expectation and to disappointment that eventually leads to violence,".

As if to give a twist to the peace move by US president Bush, a hawkish faction in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's coalition, Yisrael Beiteinu's 11 lawmakers from the government, pulled out of the government on 16 January, leaving Olmert with a majority of 67 in the 120-seat parliament. This unexpected step has weakened Olmert at a time when he needs broad support to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians by the end of the year. Ruling coalition still has the majority in the House. "Negotiations on the basis of land for peace is a fatal mistake," Avigdor Lieberman, head of the faction, told a news conference.  However, Ruhama Avraham, a member of Olmert's Kadima Party, said the government would overcome the crisis. Olmert had tried to persuade Lieberman to stay in the government in a meeting with him on Tuesday. But Yisrael Beiteinu decided in a meeting to leave, Lieberman said. "Nothing will come of these negotiations," he declared.

Earlier, former premier and now defense minister of Israel Ehud Barrack also had made similar efforts to bring peace to Israel, but he was “outsmarted” by others. Lieberman's decision now has come just days after Palestinian and Israeli negotiators began tackling the core issues of their conflict — final borders, sovereignty over disputed Jerusalem, and the fate of Palestinian refugees who lost homes in Israel during the war that broke out following the Jewish state's creation in 1948. He had repeatedly threatened to leave the government if these issues were broached. "If we pull back to the 1967 borders, everyone should ask himself, what will happen the following day," Lieberman said. He is pessimistic about results, believes that nothing would change in the region.  "Will the conflict stop, will the terror stop? Nothing will change." The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party with 12 lawmakers has also threatened to leave if Israel agrees to any compromise over Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

Prospects for a comprehensive are now been blocked by the lat4st Israeli move. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Israelis and Palestinians re-launched talks after seven years of violence at a U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference in November. The leaders pledged to try to reach an agreement before President Bush leaves office a year from now. This is no surprise to the world, knowing the way Israeli leaders behave in groups in order to sabotage any peace move from any quarters. But since Bush ahs sworn by his resolve to establish a Palestine State before he steps down from the White House, now it has to be seen what he would do next to make the revolting Israeli leaders to see reason to support his proposal for good neighborly relations and peaceful existence in Middle East. Unless USA, UN, UK and Egypt plays a constructive and pro-active role supporting the just cause of the Palestinians against the damaging tactics of the Israeli leaders, the creation of Palestine state would, perhaps, remain a distant dream for the peace makers, brokers of Middle East peace and the world at large. All the shuttle diplomacy the USA has engaged in, then, also has no meaning and value.

(DR.ABDUL RUFF Colachal is an Analyst, Researcher & Columnist based in Delhi)