Israel Matzav: Is there policy behind this madness?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Is there policy behind this madness?

Earlier this week, the Defense Ministry announced approval of the construction of 277 new housing units at the center of the city of Ariel in Samaria. 100 of those units are for Jews who were expelled from the Jewish town of Netzarim (you know - the one Ariel Sharon once compared to Tel Aviv) in 2005 and still have no place to live six years later and won't for another two years at best. Of course, the Obama administration promptly condemned the construction as 'deeply troubling.' Former Bush administration national security adviser Elliott Abrams tries to figure out whether there is a policy behind this madness.

But if the fixation on freezing construction in settlements is no longer the main pillar of Obama policy, those old sentiments and statements linger on. Thus did the announcement that new units were to be built in Ariel evoke a new denunciation from Washington. To be sure, it did not come from the President himself and was a pretty low-key affair; it did not suggest that new a crisis in bilateral relations loomed. But this was a reminder that the Administration appears to have learned nothing, and still does not understand the difference between expanding a settlement physically and expanding the population of a settlement by building in already-built-up areas.

Why not? Without dealing with the question of which individual policymakers are responsible for this foolish policy, it does seem that the policy is based on the view that every square foot of land controlled by Jordan before the 1967 war is rightly part of “Palestine,” so that every Israeli action on that land is wrong. This view also explains why the President believes peace negotiations should start from the “1967 borders.” But there are no “1967 borders,” just the 1949 Armistice lines that all sides agreed in 1949 were not to be regarded as permanent. It is reasonable to have the 1949 map on the table when negotiations begin, and to have next to it the 2011 map, and to seek a compromise. It is not reasonable to view it as a violation of international law and a threat to a peace agreement every time bricks and studs and drywall show up at the center of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. In the real world those new units in Ariel do not make a final peace agreement harder.

Abrams is correct as far as he goes: There is no policy behind the madness. However, the only chance that the 'Palestinians' will ever come to the table is if they feel they have something to lose by not coming. And the only way that will ever happen is to stop coddling them by telling Israel to build up and not out. Stop interfering altogether. Let Israel build wherever and whenever it wants. And if the 'Palestinians' still aren't willing to come to the table, let them lose out. Actions should have consequences.

Labels: Ariel, Barack Hussein Obama, Elliott Abrams, Judea and Samaria construction