The Obama administration is now attempting to win from Israel a two month re-imposition of the moratorium in order to convince PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas to resume direct talks, which stalled when the moratorium lapsed.
The settlement moratorium is set to expire on September 27, 2010. While existing restrictions on settlement construction have had no lasting impact, their extension beyond 2010 would affect the pace of expansion as building now underway is completed without being replenished by new construction starts.
The formal inauguration of proximity talks between Israel and the PLO signifies the high-water mark of 17 months of diplomacy conducted by the Obama administration. After a rancorous false start in March precipitated by an ill-timed announcement of settlement plans in East Jerusalem on the eve of a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, formal proximity talks finally commenced on May 8.
The announcement of a routine planning approval for 1,600 dwellings in the East Jerusalem settlement neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo precipitated a crisis in relations that highlights not only Israel’s intention to expand settlements—in East Jerusalem and elsewhere—but also the need for a more effective U.S. effort to rescue President Barack Obama’s troubled diplomatic initiative.
After a year of well-intentioned but counterproductive diplomatic effort, President Barack Obama’s interest in and ability to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians appear to be waning.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted what he describes as “a policy of restraint regarding settlements which will include a suspension of new permits and new construction in Judea and Samaria for a period of ten months.”
Washington hopes that a tripartite fall meeting of President Barack Obama, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas will mark the inauguration of a new phase in Obama’s Middle East policy.
Never in the forty-two years that Israel has been occupying and settling the West Bank has an Israeli prime minister taken seriously, let alone implemented, U.S. demands for a freeze of settlement expansion.
Israel’s ever-expanding network of civilian settlements in the occupied territories is viewed by its partisans and opponents alike as the most significant obstacle to the creation of a viable, sovereign Palestinian state.
George Mitchell’s appointment as Middle East peace envoy has strengthened expectations that President Barack Obama will revitalize American diplomatic leadership committed to making peace between Israelis and Palestinians.