US inability to rein in Israel will fuel extremism in region
Moderate camp among the Palestinians has lost the battle and the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution seems remote.
Capitulating to the intransigence of Israel's hardliners, the White House proved itself unable to secure even its most recent, downsized demand for a colony freeze to allow direct talks between the Palestinians and Israelis to resume.
Like a fretful parent with a bullying spoilt child, US President Barack Obama spent the last month cajoling and pleading with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop Israel's illegal colony building programme on occupied Palestinian land for just 90 days.
He threw in a raft of incentives — the gift of 20 advanced F-35 fighter jets; a pledge to veto any anti-Israeli resolutions at the United Nations — but all were brushed away by a petulant hand.
Already in receipt of $3 billion US aid a year and unconditional diplomatic support, Israel clearly sees no reason to offer concessions for what it can probably get for free.
In June 2009, Obama gave his famous Cairo speech in which he reached out to the world's 1.4 billion Muslims. In the course of his eloquent and stirring oratory, he made this unequivocal statement:
"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli colonies".
US inability to rein in Israel will fuel extremism in region
Originally Posted by Gulf News
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