What's goin' on in here...

I realize I may touch a few nerves with this next post.

After living in Israel for nearly five months it’s hard to ignore the tense realities on the ground.  Here is my take on one of the most hotly debated issues.

Settlement Freeze. Last week the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a ten month construction freeze on all “settlements.” The settlement freeze was proposed by US President Barak Obama, whose own government sees the ongoing settlement construction as destructive to the peace process. Why? Simply because the Palestinian Authority does not want Jews in their future state, so continuing settlement construction equals more Jews in Palestinian land.  From my understanding the big problem is that the land under question is the proven, historical and ancestral home of both Jews and Palestinian-Arabs. Yes, the Jews came first, and after we were expelled by the Romans, the Arabs eventually settled. First or second, neither should be denied their history, and there should be no games of “finder’s keeper’s.” Israelis on the political Right, those in favor of continued settlements and returning Israel to its biblical borders, are vigorously protesting the order. In the last few days, Rightists, have chased away government building inspectors, blocked roads, and planned a massive rally in front of the Prime Minister’s residence. The argument on the political Right is that the construction freeze is the first step to evacuating the settlements. They have precedent on their side. In 2005 nearly 8,000 Jewish settlers were evacuated from part of The Gaza Strip. The political Left believes that abandoning the settlements and re-settling the settlers is a necessary sacrifice to achieve a lasting peace that will protect both Jews and Arabs. Precedent is not on their side. Since the Gaza Strip was abandoned 8,000 rockets and countless mortars have been launched at Israelis prompting a war in December 2008 that left many dead and wounded. What do I think? Considering the Palestinian Authority has rejected the settlement freeze because it does not include Jerusalem (is the oldest city in the world still a settlement?), I think it is an exercise in futility. I think Obama’s demand places more pre-conditions on peace talks with already too many pre-conditions. And now that one pre-condition was met, and the Palestinian side refuses to talk, it begs the question, “What do they really want?” Earlier this year the Palestinian Authority convened The Fatah Congress where they unanimously agreed that any settlement freeze, peace talks, and “two-state solution” are steps in the process to fulfill the Palestinian Right of Return. To return all Palestinians and their descendents to the homes they had before the UN divided the land of Israel in to a Jewish and Palestinian state in 1948. If they want it all back, how can there be any negotiations?