Good Middle East Reporting by Wasington Post

Posted by Neil Gunn Sep 19, 2009

The failure of US envoy George Mitchell to persuade the Israelis to stop building new settlements on the West Bank should come as no surprise to anyone.

CNN quaintly announced that, “The hopes for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks dimmed Friday…” Well it’s much more than that; despite the huge amounts of American aid that flows into Israeli coffers, Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the door in Barack Obama’s face.

Other reporting by the Washington Post and the BBC are much more accurate about their assessment of the current state of affairs. In particular the Washington Post which correctly described the present situation as a “tragedy in the making.”

Although Netanyahu has talked about a settlement freeze, Palestinians have accused him of “grand deception” as building continues.

Some American sources have talked about a peace process without the ever-expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank being on the agenda. I have to wonder what planet they live on. There will never be a just peace between Israel and Palestine without an end to the building programme. I’m very sure that President Obama is well aware of that.

The President is a busy man, he has health, the economy and Afghanistan to worry about but let’s not forget about the Palestinians.

To the American public I would say go and read today’s online Washington Post (20 Sept) find out what’s really happening in the West Bank. The writer of the article, Stephen M Walt, a Harvard professor has in my humble opinion got it exactly right.