U.S. Policy Toward Palestine and Israel Takes Center Stage

During the month of March, world attention toward relations between the United States, Israel and the Palestinians reached a level not seen in many years. On March 3, U.S. Special Envoy to the Arab League endorsed the U.S.-backed "proximity talks", thus encouraging the Palestinian Authority to enter into "indirect negotiations" with Israel. Though the "proximity talks" were seen by many as a step backward, the Obama Administration hailed it as an important breakthrough. This, however, was not meant to be.

On March 8, the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that it would set aside its partial and temporary settlement freeze in the West Bank and authorize construction on 112 new settlement housing units near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. But the final blow to the "proximity talks" came the following day when the Israeli Interior Ministry announced plans to expand an East Jerusalem settlement by 1,600 housing units. The announcement was made while U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was in Israel on a goodwill trip intended to assure the Israeli public that relations between Israel and the United States were as strong as they had ever been. Because U.S. policy is unequivocal in its opposition to Israeli settlements, the announcement was regarded by journalists and pundits around the world as a "slap in the face" to the visiting Vice President. Biden, a longtime ally of Israel, responded quickly with directly, stating, "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance plans for new housing units."

Back in Washington, the Obama Administration's language was even stronger. During an unusually long phone call, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that, in announcing a plan to expand a settlement ahead of the "proximity talks" was "a deeply negative signal about Israel's approach to the bilateral relationship and counter to the spirit of the Vice President's trip." Netanyahu issued a public apology for the timing of the announcement, but not for its actual content.

The content, however, was what the Obama Administration continued to focus on. On March 21, over 7,000 supporters of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) gathered in Washington, DC for AIPAC's annual conference. During the next three days, attendees heard from top U.S. and Israeli officials, each affirming the strength of the relationship between the two countries. This included Secretary Clinton, who described the Obama Administration's commitment to Israel's security as "rock solid, unwavering, enduring and forever." But she did not sidestep the issue of settlements, telling a silent crowd, "New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations the both sides want and need. And it exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region hope to exploit."

That daylight was made abundantly clear a few hours later, when Netanyahu took the stage and declared, "Jerusalem is not a settlement. It's our capital," earning a prolonged standing ovation. The AIPAC conference attendees took their message to Capitol Hill on the final day of the conference, urging their elected representatives to pressure President Obama to stop criticizing Israel, to pressure the Palestinians to return to negotiations and to focus their attention on Iran. Their message was warmly received by a Congress that had already begun to distance itself from the President. [For more details on the Congressional reaction, please see "March 2010 Legislation and Developments Regarding U.S. Policy Toward Palestine" in this edition of the APR.]

On March 23, Netanyahu and Obama finally met personally at the White House. The fanfare that typically accompanies a visit by an Israeli head of state was conspicuously absent. There was no press conference and no official statement made following the meeting, though spokespersons for both governments said that progress was made. Israel is said to be considering a number of measures to encourage the Palestinians to enter into "proximity talks". But fundamental disagreements between Israel and the United States over the legitimacy of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and the status of East Jerusalem remain. Emboldened by a health care victory, Obama appears committed to publicly pressing his Israeli counterpart on the matter. Whether or not Netanyahu can be moved remains to be seen.