In a great many polls, the American people have been asked which country is the best ally of the US in the Middle East. The answer is always the same and has remained that way for forty years: Israel. Israel is the only functioning democracy in the area. It has the only developed economy in the area (which it achieved without having major oil revenues.) It has done much to help US efforts in the region; indeed, it has on occasion taken steps which it considered ill advised just to satisfy the request of the USA. A good example is the "settlement" freeze that president obama demanded of the Israelis when he first took office. Even though Israel did not want to stop construction of homes and workplaces for its citizens in certain areas, the Israelis agreed to a nine month freeze on construction to meet the demands of the Obama administration. Of course, the freeze was supposed to lead to the resumption of meaningful peace talks with the Palestinians according to obama. Instead, the Palestinians delayed any talks until the freeze was just about over, and then, their demands at the talks were for a permanent freeze or the cessation of talks. Not surprisingly, the freeze ended and no progress was made. Israel, however, had complied to the US wishes.
Now, however, there is a move on the horizon that threatens serious harm to Israel and the word is that the US is lining up on the side working against the Israelis. Specifically, there is a plan to have the United Nations vote to create a Palestinian state next September. According to media reports, the State Department is leaking word that the US will vote for the creation of such a state. This is a momentous step, both for the UN and for the US. Look at it this way:
1) The Palestinians previously agreed that they would negotiate with the Israelis to bring about the creation of a Palestinian state. In the last years of the Clinton Administration, the Israelis offered Yassir Arafat about 99% of what he wanted. Israel was willing to cede control to Arafat's state of essentially all the land captured by Israel in 1967 with the exception of certain areas in Jerusalem where hundreds of thousands of Israelis now live. Arafat's response was to say no and to launch the terror campaign that killed hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians. Since then, the Palestinians have never negotiated seriously about the establishment of a state, despite their agreed commitment to do so.
2) In an attempt to avoid having to negotiate with Israel, the Palestinians now want the UN to declare the existence of their state. this will not change the facts on the ground. It will, however, have a big impact worldwide. Israel will officially become a state occupying the territory of another state. The focus of all discussions will be on withdrawal by Israel and not the formation of the Palestinian state. The legal basis for countries to declare Israeli actions as violations of international law will be created. A whole host of problems will be created for Israel. In short, the Palestinians will get their state without ever having to agree to Israel's right to exist.
3) It needs to be understood who will be in charge in that Palestinian state. Half of the state will be in the Gaza strip. that portion is ruled by the terrorist group Hamas. For the last month, Hamas has been launching rockets into Israel every day, a move which has brought on Israeli counterstrikes. Hamas has also been killing its opponents in Gaza. The dead include members of Fatah which governs the West Bank and also of other smaller groups. So, if the US participates in forming a Palestinian state, it will be establishing a state ruled by terrorists which can act as a safe haven for terrorists of all sorts.
4) The US could veto any resolution in the security council establishing the Palestinian state, so there is no question that the creation of such a state needs US approval. Indeed, even were the resolution to be offered and passed in the General Assembly, it would still carry much less weight if it were opposed by the US and its allies. Of course, such opposition would need a concerted effort by the US to help its ally Israel. Obama seems to be preparing to do just the opposite.
There are still five months until September. That means that americans have time to make their voices heard. Fortunately, Obama has already gone into campaign mode for the 2012 election. That means that if sufficient numbers of folks write to the White House and to their congressmen and senators, Obama might actually consider the views of the people. I urge everyone to write again and again on this issue. Maybe, just maybe, we can get Obama to back off. Once the US allows the creation of a Palestinian state, there can be no second chance. Even if Obama is bounced out in 2012, the facts will not change; Obama will have inflicted a great harm on Israel and also on US interests in the Middle East.
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