Fear over the spread of swine flu and the true intentions of the new Israeli government give Doaa El-Bey jitters The Israeli prime minister is trying to stifle peace in the region; the US president wants to give it a boost. Hani Al-Masri wrote that the true racist, aggressive face of the Israeli occupation was shown just two months after it came to power, even before Binyamin Netanyahu outlines his government policies ahead of his trip to the US next month. The writer pointed to Israeli statements and practices that proved his point: first, giving priority to the Iranian threat. In reality, Israel is not concerned about Iran's nuclear plans because it has the power to wipe out Iran with the nuclear arsenal it possesses. But it is afraid of the growth of Iranian influence in the region and its attempt to become a regional superpower. Second, Netanyahu's government seeks to focus on forming an Arab-Israeli-American coalition to confront Iran and consequently marginalise the Palestinian issue. Third, it rejects the principle of land for peace and the two-state solution and focuses on what it calls "economic peace". Fourth, it rejects any talk about the issue of Palestinian refugees and insists on Palestinian recognition that Israel is a Jewish state. At the end, Al-Masri expected that the Israeli government will not refuse the establishment of what can be called a Palestinian state after it finishes all its racist expansionist policies and usurps most Palestinian land. "Previous Israeli governments which claimed they believed in peace and the two-state solution built more settlements and waged war against Lebanon and Gaza. The present government is likely to follow the same policy but at a more effective and wider level," Al-Masri wrote in the independent political Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam. Mustafa Zein wrote that Avigdor Lieberman raised the slogan "Iran first, then peace", which can be accepted by the US, Europe and the Middle East. Tel Aviv is using the recent Egyptian-Iranian tension to market that slogan. That would mean that the Iranian, not the Palestinian, issue becomes the basis for war or peace in the region. The Palestinian issue is in the best case scenario linked to the Iranian issue. Netanyahu is likely to carry that slogan with him on his visit to the US. Relying on the support of Congress, he is expected to be able to market it at the White House. In addition to "Iran first", Netanyahu will carry with him a complete plan that includes few conditions in order for his government to accept a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians. These conditions include recognising Israel as a Jewish state, the settlements are built to last, the annexation wall will never be demolished and Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel. Zein quoted a Haaretz writer who stated that "Israel is simply asking the Palestinians to espouse Zionist principles in order to start negotiations. In that case, there will be nothing left to negotiate," he concluded in the London-based independent daily Al-Hayat. The Qatari daily Al-Raya wrote that the present Israeli government has no programme for peace at all, but one based on war, Judaising Israel and denying any past agreements or pledges. Thus, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak's calls for sticking to peace according to the roadmap clash with Lieberman's opposition to any negotiations with the Arabs. This contradiction within the Israeli government clearly aims to engage the Arab states and the international community in trivial matters. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv's stand on peace is very clear, but it is trying to waste time by putting conditions before peace like asking Palestine to recognise Israel as a Zionist state. The newspaper's editorial confirmed that the Arabs exerted every effort to reach peace and that it is high time for Israel to meet its previous pledges and take serious steps that could lead to genuine peace. Maamoun Fendi wrote that Netanyahu's link between the two-state solution and Iran's nuclear plans is a mere attempt to gain more time. By this link he does not mean that if Iran agrees to stop its nuclear programme, Israel would accept the two-state solution. He means that any talk about the Palestinian issue would be postponed until the Iranian nuclear file is resolved. By so doing, the writer added, Netanyahu is trying to rearrange priorities in the Middle East. While the Arabs consider the Palestinian issue as "the mother of all problems", Netanyahu regards the Iranian issue as the greatest threat to the Middle East. However, this linkage is a test for both Iran and Israel who use the Palestinian issue as a tool. If Tehran is serious in helping the Palestinians, it will accept Netanyahu's linkage and declare it will stop its nuclear programme once Israel starts applying the two-state solution seriously. Netanyahu also knows that he is asking for the impossible and that Iran will never stop its nuclear plans for the sake of the Palestinians. "Keeping the Palestinian issue unresolved serves the strategic interests of Iran and Israel that aim to weaken Arab influence and give room to non-Arab powers like Iran, Turkey and Israel to control the fate of the region," Fendi wrote in the London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat. The Syrian political daily Tishreen wrote that in the light of the present arrogant Israeli policies, any talk about the peace process is mere hope or tranquilisers rather than treatment of the current condition in the Middle East. If we look at the past when all the parties inside and outside the region were working towards peace, Israel was the only party that said "no" to peace or the principle of land for peace according to the Madrid Conference and international conventions. The picture, according to the newspaper's editorial, has not changed today: what Lieberman says today is not different from what Livni or any other Israeli official said yesterday. The only difference is that his government openly states its opposition to peace. These practices thwart any hopes for peace, be it from the US or any other party. "The region cannot stand any more hollow statements or pledges. It needs serious attempts to abide by international legitimacy," the editorial concluded. The Jordanian political daily Al-Rai said the visit by King Abdullah to the US and his meeting with Obama was a chance to emphasise that the Palestinian issue is the basis and Jerusalem the core of the conflict in the Middle East. Without resolving the two issues there will be no peace. The monarch clearly underlined that the US has the power to place the Palestinians and Israelis at the negotiating table in quest of the two-state solution. And that this was the only way to reach positive results because leaving the two parties on their own would lead nowhere. The writer added that the region expects to see positive signs towards peace from the US especially after Obama's meeting with Netanyahu.
