Israeli-Palestinian Peace Initiative

President B. Obama gave a speech to the nation (8/31/10) announcing the end of the combat mission of American troops in Iraq. He stated that the rest of the troops would be withdrawn by the end of 2011. I will only believe this when it is actually implemented. The reason behind my skepticism is attributed to President Obama's weak stands on almost every vital issue that Congress has passed. He went to extremes to appease his opponents, whose aim is to defeat him. The president does not have the courage to stand up to his opponents. Furthermore, in his speech, the president referred to the Middle East and the possibility of a peaceful settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. The president hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu, M. Abbas, King Abdullah of Jordan and President H. Mubarak of Egypt, who attended the opening section of the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives. I am of the opinion that the effort sponsored by President Obama will lead nowhere. First of all, during the last year, the president's recommendation to settle the conflict was totally ignored by the Israeli prime minister. In my judgment, President Obama has been humiliated and snubbed by the Israeli prime minister. The tragedy of the situation is that Israeli politicians in general have never considered that Israel was created by the U.S. Since 1948, the U.S. government has supported Israel with American taxpayers' money: $150 billion in foreign and military aid. Regardless, Israel's national interest always supersedes that of the United States. Part of the Israeli Zionist ideology since the creation of the country has been to slowly and gradually implement its ideology, which is "Greater Israel". Since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank, Israel has been confiscating Palestinian land and building more than 250 settlements where around 500,000 Jewish settlers are living. Furthermore, Israel has been ethnically cleansing Palestinians, especially in Jerusalem and other places, which led to the destruction of more than 25,000 Palestinians homes. Also, Israel has been using water control policy to provide the minimal water needed for Palestinians, despite the fact that the underground water resources are located in the West Bank. In addition, Israel's approach is always backed up by military support.

At a working dinner at the White House (9/1/2010), President Obama presented himself as the peace mediator by raising hope and saying that direct talk between Netanyahu and Abbas would lead to the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Furthermore, the president said, "We, the U.S., can't impose a settlement on both parties." In my judgment, that statement will provide Netanyahu with the opportunity to impose his conditions, which I am sure the Palestinians will reject. Nevertheless, Netanyahu presented himself as ready for peace negotiation to win the support of President Obama and convey a message to the rest of the world that Israel will not be an obstacle to peace.

Based on what has taken place since the Madrid Conference in 1991, and more than 20 summits and conferences that took place since then, this will lead nowhere. There will be no peace attained as long as Israel continues to ignore the legitimate rights of the Palestinians. During the last six decades, Israel has been ignoring international law and violating Palestinian Human Rights. Israel has acted as though it is above the law due to protection given to it by the U.S. government. In the end, if the peaceful direct talks, which already started, fail, then a solution has to be imposed by the