The regional grouping is unusually united in its opposition to Isarel's expansionism and intransigence
America has every right to be angry. Besides shedding light on the difficulties lying behind the US effort to push through a peace process, the future of those talks was called into question late last Wednesday when the Arab League recommended withdrawing support for the negotiations.
"This is a global message of American weakness and Israeli arrogance," said Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi.
The US vice president's visit had been largely aimed at repairing strained US-Israeli ties over the very same issue now overshadowing Biden's trip: Jewish settlements.
Palestinians, the US, and people all over the world consider Israeli settlements built on land claimed by the Palestinians to be obstacles to peace. It seems to have become acceptable practice that Israel can get away scot free with settlement expansion. But perhaps no longer. The plan to build the 1,6000 new homes in East Jerusalem's Rama Shlomo neighbourhood could be the death knell for those who have been Israel's apologists and sympathisers. This week, the announcement has brought worldwide condemnation.
The international community, including the Obama administration, is becoming fed up with the growing intransigence of Israel in pushing forward with new settlements in areas once occupied by Palestinians. Their action is illegal under international law, and now Washington has been sanguine with its repeated condemnation.
The US is trying to restore its influence and credibility in the Middle East, not to mention the rest of the world. It has been trying over the past year to reason with Israel- and last June in Cairo, President Obama made headlines by pledging support for Palestinian statehood and urged Israel to stop settlement construction in disputed areas. The US vice president, who was embarrassed by the Israeli announcement last week, reiterated that the planned settlement undermines the trust that all sides need to build for further peace talks to succeed.
During the meeting between Vice President Biden and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the US reaffirmed its position that Palestinians deserve a viable independent state with contiguous territory. This is the noble object of the peacemaker, but the planned construction of housing for Jews in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is jeopardising the peace negotiations that are being brokered by the US. Palestinian leaders are enjoying the international community's support on this issue.
The reason for Biden's trip to Israel is twofold. One point of discussion focuses on Iran and its plans for nuclear proliferation, and the other is the peace talks. The Palestinians will certainly want the Israeli government to cancel the Rama Sholmo plan and promise not to build any more settlements during the "proximity" talks. This indirect formula for talks was used in the early 1990s in Bogor, Indonesia, during the early discussions on the resettlement of Cambodian refugees.
Israel's growing intransigence has also affected Asean as a whole, which has a long-standing position of support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood. It is interesting to note that the Palestinian struggle has won the grouping's unwavering sympathy. For decades, Asean members have shared a common stand on this. In Asean's forty-year history, the regional grouping has seldom adopted a common position on sensitive global issues, but the plight of the Palestinians has been an exception.
A Palestinian delegation in Hanoi is briefing diplomats and gaining additional sympathy for their cause. Although Israel has maintained good relations with Asean members such as Singapore and Thailand, it does not mean that these countries condone Israel's actions. Despite Israel's public relations effort in the region, the media has been very critical of the new settlement plans. If Israel continues such illegal activities, it will certainly bring strong condemnation from Asean when its leaders are scheduled to meet in Hanoi early next month. If new settlements remain on the agenda, then it will not bode well for Israel's current effort to promote diplomatic ties with Southeast Asian countries.
