Peace talks - always an Israeli win

Peace talks. Here we go again.

Peace talks are a tired method by which Israel, with it's overwhelming advantages and control over the Palestinians, who are powerless, has it's way while making it appear accommodating to America and eager for peace.

But no-one who has observed the process is fooled. It's said that a year will be allowed for the negotiations to produce results. That simply means a year for settlements to continue expanding and more Palestinian land to be lost.

The idea is to buy time so the bulldozers can continue their work in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

But the settlement project is a loser by its success. There isn't enough land left for the Palestinians to have a country of their own and the inevitable result will be destitute Palestinians, in large numbers and under military law, scattered among well-off Israelis with full rights under the law. In other words, the settlements seal a future of apartheid.

Just like apartheid in South Africa, the system will not be sustainable. While Israelis may accept it, the world, including many Jews who live outside of Israel, will not.

While it is my intent with this blog to help speed the way for justice for the Palestinians, I have no doubt that it will come eventually. While appearing to get everything it wants, Israel has been steadily losing prestige, sympathy and backing since 1967. With a right-wing warrior leadership firmly in command, I see no reversal of this decline in the future.

Far from becoming an accepted and integrated member of the community of nations that surround it, Israel has lost the support of more distant nations that could have helped that happen, had it not flouted world opinion with the settlement project.

The end of the settlement project is the first necessity for peace, not something to be dealt with eventually. It is the cause of widespread anger, not to mention hatred, and has made Israel a liability to the United States. The fact that the settlements are not even mentioned in connection with the latest talks is proof of how pointless and unproductive the talks will be.

Instead, keep your eyes on the ever-growing opposition to what Israel is doing that is taking place in the United States. Better yet, join it. Two excellent groups with which to get involved are Jewish Voice for Peace and ICAHD-USA.