In his White House address on Tuesday, the US leader has once again underscored his keenness to move forward in the Middle East by pushing for a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The president also brought up Iran towards the end of his talk saying he would persist to re-establish and improve relations with the Islamic republic.
Obama’s apprehensions centre on how things could shape with the formation of the new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu’s extreme right Likud party in coalition with other hardline parties. Netanyahu’s coalition partners like Lieberman are not only known for their strong opposition to a Palestinian state but hold rabid stances on the Palestinians, Arabs and Iran.
On the other hand, Obama’s concern about the Palestinian leadership stems from the divisions within the Palestinian factions thus undermining unified efforts for an independent Palestine state. Even though Netanyahu’s coalition government is also going to be joined by the Labour party of Ehud Barak, it is unlikely to exercise any positive influence on the rigid stance of Netanyahu or his other coalition partners on the engagement with the Palestinians or other critical issues.
This is indeed unfortunate considering this US president unlike his predecessors appears to be genuinely interested in resolving the long festering Palestine-Israel conflict. An unreasonable and unwilling government in Tel Aviv could thwart these well-meaning and sincere initiatives from the Obama White House. Obama says that the status quo in the Middle East is unacceptable and unsustainable and that it is critical for us to advance a two-state solution. These remarks are likely to be received well in the region. Israel’s reaction to Obama’s statements is yet to come, and would predictably be a reiteration of its past stance that a two state solution is only possible if Palestinians show commitment to peace, renounce violence, and abandon support of Hamas.
Even though the official US position has been not to engage with Hamas, it has been called upon to change its position on the premise that Hamas enjoys popular support among the Palestinian population. Exiled Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal last week welcomed Obama’s overtures to Syria and Iran saying the US leader was speaking a new language of dialogue and reconciliation.
But the big question is, can this US president for a change make Israel listen to the voice of reason and resolve this business with the Palestinians? We’ll have to wait and see. This would require intensified diplomatic engagement with Israel as well as the Palestinians and right amount of pressure from Washington pushing for lasting peace in the world’s strategically sensitive region. It would also require efforts to unite the Palestinian factions and initiate dialogue — even if it’s indirect -- with Hamas. After all, a resolution in Ireland only came about after long and patient negotiations with the IRA terrorists -- that was also labelled as terrorist organisation.
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