A lose-lose situation

In a move that has not been getting much press, the US vetoed a resolution in the Security Council of the UN which would have declared illegal all of the so-called settlements by Israel in the territory captured in 1967. In a move typical of the Obama Administration, the vote was preceded by Secretary of State Clinton announcing that the US views all of the Israeli settlements as illegitimate. Does anyone else think this is schizophrenic?

Here are the most important points. the vast bulk of the so-called settlements are in Jerusalem or its immediate suburbs. When an Israeli buys an old hotel near the Western Wall in the heart of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and rehabilitates the building into condominiums, it gets labelled a settlement since the Jewish quarter was conquered in 1948 by the Arab Legion and all Jews were expelled by the Jordanians. In the following years, Jordanian rule continued in the area although the area was never actually part of the Kingdom of Jordan. When the Israelis retook the area in 1967 after they were attacked by the Jordanians, the ISraelis annexed the area to the State of Israel.

Under international law, an area taken in response to an attack can be administered and controlled by the victor until the matter is resolved in a peace treaty. In the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, the Jordanians renounced any claim to Jerusalem and the West Bank. That means one of two things: Israel has every right to do with the area what it wants since Jordan relinquished its claim, or, if you believe that there is a Palestinian claim to the area, then Israel has the right to determine what happens in Jerusalem and the West Bank until there is a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians that determines the fate of the area. there is no doctrin to the contrary in international law. Everything else is propaganda.

So why is it that the USA is now calling the building of homes for Jews in Jerusalem illegitimate? In my opinion, it is simply another instance of teh Obamacrats being unable to recognize or deal with the truth. the US properly vetoes the resolution that mislabels these areas settlements and brands them illegal. But in an effort to placate the Arabs, Hillary says the same thing. In one fell swoop, the USA manages to offend the Israelis and lose more of their trust by bowing to the Arabs with the Clinton statement while offfending the Arabs by vetoing the resolution. It was a typical Obama lose-lose situation.

Imagine if our president has the courage to just do what is right for once. Imagine if he would make a statement in which he announced that he had reconsidered his opposition to the settlements and determined that those in metro Jerusalem are not illegitimate. Imagine if he were to announce to the Arab world that they need to get over their desire to throw the Israelis out of that city. Imagine if obama then said that while the settlements are not illegal, they do remain an obstacle to peace so he is callng on the Israeli government to stop further expansion of settlements other than those in the Jerusalem area. My guess is that the Israelis would go along with this.

Look, there is no way that there will ever be a peace agreement in which the Israelis give up all of the so-called settlements. Nearly 300,000 Israelis (or some 5% of the population) live in these areas. Indeed, in prior negotiations with Yassir Arafat, the Palestinians recognized that the "settlements in the Jerusalem area would remain under Israeli control. Obama should start from there with a policy based upon reality and honesty, not one based upon ideology and conjecture.

As the world's only superpower, the USA should have the ability to help (or at least to not hurt) the peace process. Obama has not manged to do anything of the sort.