Palestine-Mandate

A pool report from Agence France Presse for the Foreign Press Association in Israel reported this, after a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning — this is what the U.S. apparently considers tough talk:

Rice “It is the position of the United States that the parties should not take steps that somehow would prejudice the final status outcome. In fact, the borders of a Palestinian state and Israel will be determined by agrement. I think that is no secret and I’ve said it [to] my israeli counterparts that i don’t think the settlement activity is helpful to the prrocess, that in fact what we need now are steps that enhance confidence between the parties and that anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided and we will continue to press ahead to get agreement so that we know that is in Israel and what is Palestinian”.

Livni is either not in the know [this is not the most likely possibility] — or too disengenuous.

She said she has been told that Israeli settlement activity has dramatically diminished: “The peace proces is not to be affected by any kind of settlement activity… In the end of the day the role of the leaders is to try to find a way to live in peace in the future and not to let any kind of noises that relate to the situation on the ground these days to enter the negotiation room. I would like to suggest to my partners not to use it as an excuse and I know they are not using it as an excuse but I understand their frustration sometimes. But at the end of the day the Israeli government’s policy is not to expand settlements, not to build new settlements and not to confiscate Palestinian land. According to my knowledge settlement activity is reduced in the most dramatic way especially in the parts on the other side of the fence. There were some small activities but they will not influence the abilility (to negotiate) nor the future of the future borders of the Palestinian state”…

These are tough times to be a journalist in Jerusalem. For months, Israelis have been gloating at how the media is “bored” by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is progress, they say; this is great. Nobody cares about the Palestinians, they say. The game is up. As a result, apparently, American news organizations are closing their offices — a large part of their international news budget goes to Iraq. British news organizations say that their budget to cover international news in 2007 has been totally consumed by coverage of the peculiar case of the missing British girl, Madeline.

But, apparently, there are consequences. Today, Haaretz reports, “American Jews are losing interest in Israel according to figures released Tuesday in the American Jewish Committee 2007 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion”.

Of course, the decline is not really dramatic: Haaretz says that “Figures showed that 69% of Jewish Americans agreed with the statement ‘Caring about Israel is a very important part of my being a Jew’ in 2007, compared to 74% last year and 79% in 2005″

The report, Haaretz added, also reveals that “This year, 55% said they did not believe peace is possible, down one percent from 56% last year. On the question of whether Israel should be willing to compromise on the status of Jerusalem, 58% said no and 36% said yes, showing an increase in opponents since 2006. The majority still believed that ‘The goal of the Arabs is not the return of occupied territories but rather the destruction of Israel’.” The Haaretz report on this latest survey is published here.

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams met today in preparation for the formal opening of new negotiations on 12 December, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at a business conference in Tel Aviv today that “Annapolis does not constitute an historic breakthrough. It was not planned to be one either. However, it provided us backup and support for this process of firming up the foundations for serious negotiations, meaningful reconciliation and perhaps even peace accords“.

Olmert told the businessmen: “I do not intend to stop. Annapolis was not an event, nor was it a show for the sake of publicity. Over four years ago, in an interview with the ‘Yediot Ahronot’ newspaper, I said that I believed that the shortness of time obligated us to act quickly to reach a political agreement which would allow us to evacuate most of the territory in Judea and Samaria, create a clear barrier between ourselves and the majority of Palestinians and allow them to establish an independent, vibrant and democratic state of their own. The destruction of the two-state model and international backing for the idea of one state for all residents with equal rights to vote threatens the existence of the State of Israel. I never said that if there was not a political solution, the State of Israel was finished, despite the headline in the newspapers and the quote wrongfully attributed to me – that combination of words never left my mouth. If the solution of two nation-states for two people is removed from the international agenda – and we continue to be in all the territories, and the Palestinians demand total democratization of the country under whose patronage they live – this will create an existential threat to Israel, certainly as a Jewish state. Today there is a chance, there is an opportunity, there is the beginning of dialogue with a Palestinian leadership which declares its desire for peace. It is true that this leadership is not strong enough. They still do not have the firm infrastructure of a country, with all the accompanying institutions and law enforcement authorities needed for its establishment. However, there is a leadership which declares its desire to make peace with us. This is an opportunity with many uncertain components, many risks and many dangers. It is impossible not to recognize them, it is impossible to ignore them. Under no circumstances can we allow this uncertainty and the risks to decide. Because there is also an opportunity. I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to conduct serious, continuous, ongoing negotiations in order to reach a historic breakthrough towards a new political reality”.

Talking in terms designed to appeal to businesspersons, Olmert said that “One cannot prophesy economic growth while fighting against the reconciliation process and any negotiations with our Palestinian neighbors. One cannot be against Annapolis, endlessly frighten the public regarding national catastrophes, isolate Israel from the central stream of global politics and believe at the same time that markets can be increased, trade can be expanded, more foreign investors and investments can be brought here or that more and more countries can be encouraged to have improved economic relations with us”.

Paradoxically, however, Israel appears to be in better economic shape than ever — despite plenty of fighting against the reconciliation process and negotiations with Palestinians. Last year, Israel went to war against Lebanon — and everybody seemed to get rich.

Olmert told the business conference today that “This year, the growth of the economy will be no less than 5.5%, and perhaps even higher. The rate of unemployment decreased in the final quarter to a rate of 7.4% – the lowest in over a decade. Our balance of payments is positive for the third year in a row, and the surplus will this year stand at $8 billion. Inflation is close to zero, our national debt has decreased to a rate of 82% of the GNP. In 2007, product per capita will average close to $21,000 and in terms of consumer power in Israel, its value is even higher”.

Olmert’s remarks to business leaders can be found here.

So, Product per capita in Israel this year will average close to $21,000!!! In the occupied Palestinian territory, it is enormously less. If I recall correctly, it is $1,600 in the West Bank, and about half that in the Gaza Strip.  The potential for exploitation in any peace deal is enormous…