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Settlement in the West Bank
Russia is one of the members of the Quartet for the Middle East, which also includes the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union, being also one of the states that has already recognized the right of the Palestinians to have a state of their own.
Israel plans to build 2,600 apartments in the East Jerusalem, and later to increase the number to 4,600. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was calling on the Israeli government to halt any plans to build in the occupied territories and to refrain from unilateral actions to define the status of Jerusalem and the borders of the future state of Israel, which, the Russian ministry reminds, should be “determined by negotiations.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry went on to say that continuing to build in the occupied territory was contrary to the road map agreed by Israel and to the international obligations taken by Israel under international law, by which it was obliged to freeze the settlements and remove all outposts built without authorization since 2001.
Russian ministry also expressed concern that failure to do so would cause the negotiations to continue to be stalled.
It is the first time a member of the Quartet demands of Israel exactly what Mahmoud Abbas demanded when he stopped the talks between Palestinians and Israel in 2010.
The direct talks between Palestinians and Israel were resumed in September 2010, with a first round in Washington, and a second one in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
The negotiations were stopped on September 26, when the 10-month freeze on settlements was resumed after the government, which is supported by a coalition, failed to make sure it would be prolonged.
Mahmoud Abbas conditioned the resumption of talks on the freeze of settlements, while Israeli prime minister accused him that he came to the negotiations at the last week before the prior settlement freeze expired.
All attempts to resume negotiations failed, even though Israel received some interesting propositions from the Americans in an attempt to convince them to prolong the settlement freeze by at least a few months.
Map of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank
The United States announced that they opposed the bid for statehood of the Palestinians and used all methods to dissuade Abbas, from making him promises to making threats that the financial support could be cut off, if the Palestinians went to the UN.
At a certain point, the American president Barack Obama, who made it a point of foreign policy to bring the two sides to the negotiation table and have them coming to an agreement during his mandate as president, proposed that the two parts realize a territory swap by which the Palestinians would receive the same amount of land as comprised within the borders of the West Bank before 1967.
Abbas contended that Israel was conducting a policy of fragmenting the territory of the West Bank, which in the end would make it impossible for this territory to become part of a national state.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly on this subject, Netanyahu reminded that Israel was a very small country surrounded by many enemies and that in order to defend itself it needed to have bases in the West Bank.
This continuing exchange of accusation made it impossible to resume the negotiations and in the end the Israelis had to admit that the chances of the process to be settled before September were slim. So the Palestinians went to the United Nations.
In order for the state to be recognized, the bid for statehood was presented by the UN secretary general to the Security Council, where it must be examined.
If found in order, the claim would have to go through a vote, and in order for it to be voted it must meet the approval of 9 out of 15 members. It is possible that one or many country members may oppose it, which would mean it is rejected.
If approved, the bid is voted in the general assembly and the state becomes officially the 194th state recognized by the United Nations. If the bid is rejected, the vote in the general assembly is strictly symbolic.
The Palestinian bid for statehood is currently under the scrutiny of the members of the Security Council, and could take months or even years until a pronouncement can be made on it.
That buys the Quartet some time to have the problem solved before the vote is cast in the Security Council. It would spare the Americans the pain of having to see their policy in the Middle East shattered as a result of a veto against the Palestinians.
Still, the propositions made by the Quartet are all considered by the Palestinians biased and representing the point of view of the Israelis. Chances are very slim that the Palestinians may admit any other proposition than the one made on Monday by the Russian foreign ministry.
In the meantime, Israel is trying to “tenderize” the Palestinian authority by applying a little pressure on it with the deal cut with Hamas to free soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
As the situation continues to remain unsolved, the “two state solution” is losing ground to a “three state solution,” by which the territories of the Palestinians would be incorportated into neighboring states in stead of becoming a state of their own.
Thus, Palestinians in the West Bank would become Jordanians, as they were between 1949 and 1967, while the Gazans would be incorporated into Egypt.
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