Doaa El-Bey witnesses historic developments: Egyptian women can now be appointed judges and the US sends Israel a stinging rebuke Despite the tension in US-Israeli relations because of Israel's settlement announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists there can be "no curbs" on settlement building, showing not the least sign that he is willing to make any concessions to start US-sponsored indirect Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. The editorial of the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Bayan said the true aggressive nature of Israel had never been shown as in the last few weeks. Now, there is consensus rarely seen in the past that Israel is hostile to peace. Netanyahu is trying to bow before the storm of US anger by apologising for the timing of the declaration of building more settlements, coming as it did during US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit, rather than apologising for building more settlements. The US reaction was as strong as the humiliation which the edit described as a slap on the face of Biden and the US. The US told the Israeli government that their relationship is threatened unless Israel did something to improve it. However, the US did not say what Israel was supposed to do to improve the climate, thus leaving the door open for bargains. "The Israeli fox is now in the cage and it is the responsibility of all who denounced him to let him pay for his release. If he doesn't, that would be the last act in the peace play," the edit added. The editorial of the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah said the US was angry with its ally Israel because the latter had transcended political and diplomatic decency. In his quest to impose his will on the US, Netanyahu is making use of the mid-term elections especially after he received information from the Zionist lobby that the popularity of Barack Obama's ruling Democratic Party is on the wane. Thus, Netanyahu thought that was the opportune time, as the editorial continued, to launch his new settlement campaign; and he did, during visits to the region by Biden and US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell. But that declaration angered the US and forced US State Secretary Hillary Clinton to describe the Israeli move as harmful to US interests in the region and to the peace process. "Netanyahu's inflexibility and his failure to understand the political as well as economic situation of the US have caused the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in the past 35 years," the edit added. Tariq Al-Homayed agreed with Al-Jazirah that there is rare tension in US-Israeli relations as a result of the Israeli declaration to build more settlements during Biden's visit. That tension made Netanyahu apologise twice, the first in public and the second in a phone call that lasted for 43 minutes with Clinton who told him clearly that his declaration sent deep negative signals to the US besides spoiling Biden's visit to the region. The US response was described by a US newspaper as using firm language rarely used with Israel. However, Al-Homayed warned the Palestinians and other Arabs about making mistakes that could ease the present pressure on Israel. For instance, he warned Saeb Erekat about issuing threatening statements against Tel Aviv like refraining from entering indirect negotiations in protest at the Israeli settlement policy. He also called on the Arabs to be brave and denounce any actions likely to distract attention away from Israel, including launching rockets against Israel. Al-Homayed added that it was worth noting that the Israeli settlement declaration was not the sole reason in the tension between Washington and Tel Aviv. Whoever reads Israeli newspapers, he explained in the London-based political daily Asharq Al-Awsat, would notice Israeli discontent with Obama's treatment of Tel Aviv. The newspapers note that Obama has not visited Israel since he became president although he has visited Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt. The editorial of the Syrian political daily Tishreen said the Arabs saw how Israel responds whenever they talk peace: as soon as the committee responsible for monitoring the Arab peace initiative agreed to start indirect Palestinian- Israeli negotiations, Netanyahu's government intensified its settlement and Judaising policies in Jerusalem especially around Al-Aqsa Mosque, as if telling the Arabs that this is what you deserve for talking peace. Given that the Israeli government never thought about peace but about ways to hamper it, it is not surprising that it deliberately provoked the Arab states by stating that it would build more settlements and chose Biden's visit to the region as the timing. Meanwhile, the editorial added, the US knows beforehand Israeli policies and non-peaceful plans to build settlements and Judaise Palestinian territories. Nevertheless, the US does not seem to oppose these plans. For instance, when Israel rejected a full halt to all settlement building, the US gave in to the new Israeli stand. Thus the edit saw no point in the Arab insistence over peace. "The Arabs know that Israel will not go to peace on its own and the US will not force it. As long as the Arab states are in such a weak state, there will never be a just peace in the region." Abdallah Iskandar said the controversy between Israel and the US over the former's settlement policies reflects a difference on the assessment of the situation between the Obama and Netanyahu governments. Obama dispatched Biden to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan at the same time that he sent his Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. That is, the writer explained, the US linked Biden's mission to start peace negotiations with Gates's trip to garner support for tightening sanctions against Iran. As a result, the US considered that the slap directed at Biden impacted Gates's mission in the Gulf, explaining Clinton's strong reaction. Thus at a time when the US drew a clear link between peace negotiations and taking a firmer stand on Iran's nuclear programme, Israel refused to submit any concessions for peace in order to achieve something on the Iranian track. Iskandar ruled out that Obama's administration would make any progress in peace talks as long as Netanyahu remained in power. "As long as Israel refuses to link the peace track to the Iranian nuclear track, the US government will be a victim of Israeli as well as Iranian hardline policies that will affect its credibility. Thus it should either give up that link or push for early Israeli elections to topple Netanyahu," Iskandar elaborated in the London-based independent political daily Al-Hayat.
