The Battle For
The West Bank
And East Jerusalem
By Am Johal
21 July 2005
Countercurrents.org
Last
week marked the one year anniversary of the International Court of Justice
decision declaring the construction of the Separation Wall in East Jerusalem
and the Occupied Palestinian Territories illegal.
On July 9th of 2004,
the Court found that Israel was obligated to stop construction and dismantle
the Wall.
It ruled that Israel
must "return the land, orchards, olive groves and other immovable
property seized from any natural or legal person for purposes of construction
of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories."
It found that Israels
severe restrictions on movement violated both international human rights
and humanitarian law.
When completed,
the Wall will be 832 km or twice the length of the Green Line. Even
with a new Israeli approved route, over 80 percent of the Walls
route remains inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
On March 21st of
2005, Israel approved plans to build 3,500 new housing units between
Jerusalem and the settlement of Maale Adumim and Jerusalem.
As the Gaza withdrawal
unfolds in the next few months and much is made of Israels decision
to move unilaterally, the spectre of real peace is nowhere on the horizon.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharons successful bullying of the legislative
agenda and appeasement of the settlement lobby has been carried through
from the beginning as a fait accompli. Sharon has been a master at buying
time from the US in order to implement an aggressive settlement policy
in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Though he has beat
back the forces of the far right wing that have been his traditional
base of support, he has actively created a situation on the ground under
his leadership that is untenable, unsustainable and could very well
lead to the kind of international ostracization that will do real damage
to Israel in the long term.
Since Arafats
death and the signing of a cease-fire agreement, Mahmoud Abbas has now
been vilified by the Israelis as the man who cant be trusted.
It doesnt matter who the Palestinians put forward. Added to this
is the possibility of Hamas and other Islamic political parties gaining
a stronger foothold in upcoming parliamentary elections.
Since Arafat is
no longer the Palestinian bogeyman for the West, it will no doubt be
someone else.
US President Bush
has created a framework under the Roadmap to Peace which has given Sharon
the kind of time he needs to develop a new reality on the ground in
East Jerusalem and the West Bank. A final status agreement under these
circumstances will never be possible.
Under US demands
for democracy, transparency and security, they have handcuffed a Palestinian
regime under Occupation from having any of the legitimate tools to govern
and police their own affairs.
A weakened Palestinian
state with a stalled negotiation process and militants acting outside
of state authority has in the Initifada years worked to Israels
strategic advantage. One need not look any further than the situation
in East Jerusalem or the West Bank today to understand this.
The Gaza Withdrawal
should hardly be seen as an Israeli gesture for peace - there has been
a catastrophe in its wake. Additionally, the application of international
law has been impractical, weakly applied and has had little bearing
on the outcome in the conflict. It has proven to be an ineffective tool
in forcing Israel to comply with its human rights obligations or bringing
about an end to the Occupation. Tacit US and European Union support
has more often than not bolstered provocative Israeli development policies
in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
When it comes to
land confiscation and settlement expansion, Israel has done well under
the Second Intifada and the Palestinians are in a diminished position
since September 2000. Violence has yet to bring about peace just as
a cease-fire has yet to bring about peace.
And so on it goes.
As long as the Israeli
mainstream is hopelessly out of touch, smug in its place and extremely
gifted at looking the other way, Ariel Sharon will continue to steamroll
through his agenda like a school yard bully until a political movement
can gain strength and shape a new reality. They have much to gain by
shifting from their entrenchment.
Until the Israeli
mainstream gets behind ending the Occupation, the maneuvers of diplomacy
will merely be photo ops and press statements devoid of meaning. The
goal posts will always seem to be shifting.
Nobody should be
under any illusions - as long as George W. Bush is President of the
US and Ariel Sharon is the Israeli Prime Minister, there will be no
lasting peace.
The Palestinians
alone will never be in a position to force a lasting deal on peace.
The Americans and the Israelis will always have to be dragged there
kicking and screaming.
There are still
dark days ahead in this conflict.