[21/November/2009]

ABU DHABI, Nov. 19 (Saba) - An emboldened Israel has gone even further in its defiance on settlements. Illegal by all international standards, the latest development entails the sanctioning of a whopping 900 more homes in Gilo, in Eastern Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967, commented a UAE daily, UAE News Agency (WAM) reported on Saturday.

The Dubai-based " Khaleej Times" in its today's editorial " Israel's Continuing Defiance" has said that " Tel Aviv has justified this blatant rejection of the demand for cessation of all settlement activity by saying that Gilo as part of Jerusalem was excluded from the West Bank territory. Hence, it is very much part and parcel of Israel and open to any use the government deems fit. Hastily issued objections from the White House and the UN cannot be faulted for timing. What authority a US objection would hold after succumbing to Israeli pressure on the very issue is the bigger question here".

Israel, initially taken by surprise by the Obama administration's stand on the settlements issue, has managed to reverse its slide from its position as the most favoured ally, enjoying unrestrained support for all its actions, including illegal ones in violation of international law, it noted.

"It can, in fact, now openly boast about checking President Barack Obama's efforts to judiciously settle the crisis. The quick erosion in US credibility in the region, especially among the Palestinians and Arab States, stems from its reversal of position on settlements. It is an issue at the core of moving the peace talks ahead on eventually reaching a consensus on a two-state solution", read the editorial.

Considering Mahmoud Abbas had recently tended his resignation in protest against Israel's refusal to commit to peace, this development only confirms what the Palestinian Authority and others have been saying all along.

"Israel may raise a bigger hue and cry over seeking peace, but its actions belie words and intent. This cannot be more obvious than in building settlements on illegally occupied territories, both West Bank and other annexations. Israel may argue all it wants about its right to build on annexed lands, but its case lacks credence. It only perpetuates the belief about the role Israel has been playing for decades at the cost of millions of Palestinians", it observed.

While Arab and Palestinian resentment increases by the day, there is a growing perception that Obama may surprise Israel. It could entail support for Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state by end of two years in case peace talks fail.

"Obama should realise the implications of his perceived retreat on both Palestinians and Israel. Far from helping, it can only worsen the situation. Washington needs to pull its act together and rein in Israel, hell bent on a course, clearly opposed to peace", the paper concluded

Saba