The Israeli prime minister's visit to Washington sees relations between the two allies in an unusual state of disarray, writes Emad Mekay from the US capital Further isolating the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority, thwarting Iranian nuclear ambitions, and securing support for his controversial plan to establish Israel's permanent borders by 2010 topped Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's agenda on his inaugural visit to the United States this week. Olmert met with US President George Bush on Tuesday, and spoke to a joint meeting of both chambers of Congress on Wednesday. During the three-day visit Olmert also held talks with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, and leaders of the Jewish community in the US. Independent analysts say the talks come at a time when Hamas's rise to power and Iran's nuclear programme have thrown the two allies into confusion on how best to confront new realities in a region they thought long ago secured for their military and political ambitions. Olmert addressed a joint session with the Senate, an unusual honour for a first visit. The House of Representatives greeted the Israeli premier by passing a motion imposing draconian sanctions on the Palestinians for electing Hamas, which still refused to recognise Israel. While the motion, for which the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other radical pro-Israel groups lobbied heavily, was presented as a necessary step in isolating Hamas, concern is increasingly being voiced that it will harm ordinary Palestinians by cutting off aid to many non-governmental organisations working in the Palestinian territories. And while pro-Israel groups argue the measure is part of an overall strategy to ensure that the Hamas government comes to be perceived by Palestinians as a failure, a growing number of analysts believe that isolating Hamas is proving counter-productive. The Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, which after a voting delay of four months was finally passed by the House, generated unprecedented levels of grassroots opposition. And the bill could yet be derailed. It still needs to be signed by the president and ratified by the Senate. Critics of the act say it risks further portraying the US as a country in thrall to extreme pro-Israeli policies that are not even popular at home, let alone abroad. "By using the Palestinian election as a pretext to impose severe economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Palestinian people, this resolution calls into question US commitment of advancing democracy abroad," said Josh Ruebner, Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Olmert's visit coincides with signs that the US- Israeli-led blockade against Hamas is beginning to fracture. While the Europeans and Washington-backed Arab regimes were initially persuaded to join the siege of Hamas, they have not been blind to Hamas's growing popularity across the Arab world. The Europeans have already begun to distance themselves from US-Israel plans to muzzle Hamas, and now say they will continue aid to the Palestinians while bypassing the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority. And Arab populations, frustrated with their leaders' lack of support for the Palestinians, have been raising funds for the Palestinians despite US threats. Even on his unilateral plan to annex yet more Palestinian land to Israel Olmert did not receive the backing, let alone the pay cheque, he had hoped. Not yet, anyway. President Bush gave Olmert's plan polite praise, saying it contained "bold ideas". But his administration had already declared before the visit that it would not consider funding such a plan, whose estimated costs are around $10 billion. "I believe, and Prime Minister Olmert agrees, that a negotiated final status agreement best serves both the Israelis and the Palestinians and the cause of peace," Bush said in a press conference with Olmert at his side. Former president and Nobel Prize winner Jimmy Carter wrote in USA Today before Olmert's visit that his plan was "ill-advised" and a "unilateral confiscation and colonization" of the West Bank. "A mutual Israeli-Palestinian agreement would undoubtedly result in full recognition of Israel by all Arab nations, with normal diplomatic and economic relations, and permanent peace and justice for the Palestinians. It would also remove one of the major causes of international terrorism and greatly ease tensions that could precipitate a regional or even global conflict," said Carter. Even Americans for Peace Now (APN), a group that describes itself as a Jewish Zionist organisation, says talks are the only way for a settlement of the conflict. "These developments, coupled with the administration hedging on its refusal to assist Palestinians because of the Hamas election, suggest an element of uncertainty and disarray in Washington not seen in recent years," said Charles D Smith, professor of Middle East history at the University of Arizona. Olmert, fearful of any threat to his country's military dominance in the region, used his visit to press Washington on Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister listened to Bush reiterate support for Israel in their joint press conference. The US, said Bush, would come to Israel's aid "in the event of any attack on Israel" by Iran. (see p.8)
