Over the past few months, several initiatives have been put forward by international and regional players to revive the dormant Middle East peace process. Unfortunately, all the initiatives have been arrogantly rejected by the Israeli government.
And Instead of showing the least interest in bringing about a peaceful settlement to the Palestinian question, Israel has decided to form what can only be described as a war cabinet. The recent reshuffle in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has included war-advocates and anti-peace politicians who have dedicated their careers to ensuring the continuation of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. One of these radicals is Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party.
This move clearly shows not only Netanyahu’s disinterest in any kind of peace in our region, but also indicates that he may be preparing for another conflict.
The world community has been hoping that common sense will prevail in Israel and it will accept a return to the peace process before United States President Barack Obama leaves office — a process that will see the siege of Gaza eased and the mad drive to expand Jewish colonies in the Occupied Territories stopped.
However, what the recent Israeli government reshuffle shows us is that Netanyahu and his friends, true to their hostile ideology, are trying to exploit the tragic events in the Arab world and the US presidential campaign to bury all hopes for peace in the Middle East. He’s being helped by the apathy of the international community and the inability of the Palestinian leadership to push for a meaningful and fair process, based on United Nations resolutions, particularly Resolution 242, which would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital.
Netanyahu and his demagogue friends in the new cabinet believe that the civil wars in some parts of the Arab world mean that the Arabs may give up on Palestine. He is dead wrong. The Palestinian Question will always remain the central cause. He, and the rest of the world, must know that there can be no peace and stability in the region, and Israel especially, without a just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue.
