Falling into the Trap of Playing Micro-Diplomacy

Bibi must be rubbing his hands gleefully at the prospect of Abbas stalling on 'proximity' talks because of the announcement of another 1,600 settler homes in Occupied East Jerusalem. That is precisely what the Israeli government wants. More time. More time to demolish. More time to build. More time to demolish Palestinian homes. More time to build illegal Jews-only settlements. More time to consolidate total control of Palestine. Do the Palestinian leadership still not understand the game being played?

By focussing on 1,600 more homes and where they may be built, whether this is existing settlement expansion, or a new build, Israel is determining the game and setting the agenda. They are playing micro-diplomacy while distracting the US Administration as well as the Palestinian leadership from the ultimate gameplan.

All Israeli settlements beyond the pre-June 1967 borders are illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Until this basic injustice is acknowledged and addressed, as it was in the Roadmap to Peace, there will never be a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.