Update: The Independent says Israeli PM Netanyahu claims "secret deal" with the Charlatan to justify the continued settlement of the West Bank. His government alleges that Ariel Sharon agreed to the Road Map and the withdrawal of 8,000 settlers only on the "understanding" that Israel could expand the existing settlements within their physical boundaries. 44 does not see any such understandings, if they existed, as binding on his watch. He told NPR that a freeze on settlements was part of Israeli obligations under the internationally endorsed Road Map. Especially irritating to both American officials and Palestinians is the government backed plan to build a 200 room hotel 100 meters from Old Town, an Arab enclave. Another point of bitter contention is resuming the building of the E1 corridor intended to link the Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumin with Jerusalem. Elliot Abrams, a former Assistant Secretary of State in the Regime confirmed that there was an agreement with Mr. Sharon that settlement growth could continue provided Israel did not create new settlements, use public funds for construction or expropriate more Palestinian land. The agreement was approved by Secretary of State Condolezza Rice according to an Israeli diplomat familiar with the conversation. The invocation of such an understanding now to block negotiations on territory division shows the extent to which US policy has tilted in Israel's favor during the past eight years, or the willingness of former US officials to protect Israeli interests while in private life.{5/29/09}The Israeli government has rejected U.S. requests to end the spread of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. On the eve of 44's foreign policy speech in Cairo a government spokesperson said the settlements' "natural growth" would be allowed to continue and their fate would only be decided as part of an overall peace agreement. This difficult stance by the right-wing coalition now governing Israel demonstrates the increasingly dim prospects for forging a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute at the center of Middle East unrest. Benjamin Netanyahu refuses to endorse even the concept of a two state solution, a position his predecessors in office embraced. He also refuses to cede any Arab land taken in the 1967 war as part of a regional peace deal. President Obama must spend some time with Israel's congressional allies here in the United States, if he is to succeed in leveraging Israel into necessary concessions on territory[1]. It may be useful to him to remember that when U.S. relations with Israel hit a low point in 1991, Bush 41 refused to grant housing loan guarantees to the government of Yitzhak Shamir when it refused to stop settlement building. P.L. 108-11 states that loan proceeds can only be used in areas within Israel's pre 1967 borders, and that amounts may be reduced by an amount equal to what Israel spends building settlements in conquered territory. The law has been renewed since the mid 1990's. In 2007 the Bush 43 government increased military assistance to Israel by $6 billion over the next decade. For fiscal year 2008 Israel receives $2.4 billion in military aid. That will increase incrementally to $3.1 by fiscal year 2018. Egypt, usually the second largest recipient of aid in the region will receive no increases. From 1971 to the present, U.S. aid to Israel has averaged over $2.6 billion per year, two-thirds of which has been military assistance. For an overview of current American aid to the state of Israel see this link.
{5/27/09}The predictable effect of including the extremist right wing in the Israeli government is playing out in the Knesset. A law limiting free speech has passed its first reading. Under the proposed law it would be a crime to deny the existence of Israel as a Jewish state, punishable by one year in prison. Another law under consideration would condition citizenship on an oath of loyalty to a Jewish, Zionist state. A few months ago Avigdor Lieberman's party, Yisrael Beiteinu was on the fringe of mainstream politics, known for its racists and ultra-nationalist positions. Now it is shepherding an agenda of rightist measures through the Israeli parliament. The effort seems to be targeted at Israel's Arab minority. If Israel under Netanyahu marches further to the right, more strain will be put on an already strained special relationship between the U.S. and Israel. At some point the administration may be forced to reconsider generous bilateral arrangements.
[map: United Nations]
[1] Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly not happy with the united front the administration is presenting to the Israelis on the issue of settlements. Israeli leaders are also surprised that some prominent Jewish members of Congress are siding with the administration. Their probes for negotiating room are not producing results.