Editorial, May 13, 2011
Mixed messages
GIVEN the rapidly changing political landscape in the Middle East, perhaps we should not be surprised to see some curious silences and mixed signals coming from the world’s most influential leaders.
This has been the case in regard to the situation in Egypt, Libya and Syria, but also over Israeli-Palestinian issues. So we have a situation where Middle East envoy Tony Blair, who is not known to shy away from a microphone, met Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu early last week without comment. Days later, in meetings with UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Netanyahu received contradictory messages.
On one hand, the European leaders repeated their contention that any Palestinian government must reject terror, recognise Israel and respect prior agreements. Yet, on the other hand, the pair refused to reject last week’s Palestinian unity agreement that welcomed Hamas back into the Palestinian Authority without it meeting those conditions.
Similarly, Cameron and Sarkozy have expressed support for the peace process but refuse to reject the possibility of recognising a Palestinian state if peace talks fail – a move that only encourages Palestinian intransigence.
Meanwhile, the White House has been treading water on its Israel policy for over a half-a-year, since direct Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down almost as soon as they began. US President Barack Obama, so outspoken on Israel and the Palestinians earlier in his presidency, has been reactive, not proactive, with regard to events in the Holy Land.
However, as Netanyahu prepares to visit Washington later this month, it is almost certain this murky period is drawing to a close.
During these interesting times, hope and change, the rhetorical hallmarks of Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign return to mind.
Experts say the Israeli-Palestinian status quo is unsustainable. Change, therefore, is desirable – but only if it is in a positive direction. Palestinian unity without reform in Hamas does not meet that standard. The international community must enforce its own policies regarding baselines for Palestinian governance.
Without hope, there is despair. Hope is certainly required for the future, but not as a replacement for making decisions based upon sound judgement – of which backing for unilateral Palestinian statehood is not.
In his revitalised world leadership role following his decision to assassinate Osama bin Laden, Obama now has an opportunity to redeem prior missteps and reclaim his mantra of hope and change, applying it to the peace process in positive and intelligent ways. He must not squander it.