Recently the US administration has made known that it failed to persuade the Israeli government to reinstate a settlement freeze in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The first moratorium on settlement construction lasted 10 months did not include settlement activity in East Jerusalem, a key issue in a future peace agreement. Also, during these 10 months, a peace agreement was supposed to begin between Palestinians and Israelis, which it did not.
In the past three months, after the expiration of the first settlement freeze, the US government has been trying to convince the Israeli government to reissue the settlement freeze, again not including East Jerusalem. In the past few days, the US government acknowledged their failure to encourage Israel to freeze settlement construction. A settlement freeze was a requirement for the Palestinian authority to enter into any direct negotiations with the Israeli government.
Following the failure to ensure a settlement freeze and thus the inability to begin direct negotiations, Hilary Clinton gave a speech stating that the US government would be an active participant in indirect negotiations with the two parties. She urged both sides to begin tackling the core issues of borders and security, settlements, water and refugees, and Jerusalem.
I have two observations about the "clean start" that the US administration has declared:
On the one hand, in the past year, the settlement issue has seemed to control the peace talks and keep any negotiations from dealing with the core issues of the conflict. A stalemate has occurred, instead of actual progress. In this way, perhaps focusing on all the issues, instead of just a temporary settlement freeze is good for the peace talks.
On the other hand, the fact that the Israeli government will not freeze settlement construction demonstrates that they are not serious about peace. Settlements are a key obstacle to defined borders in accordance with the internationally recognized 1967 borders. Settlements are a key factor in the unbalanced distribution of water, and settlements are one of the key factors frustrating the conflict and reducing the security of Israel. If the Israeli government keeps expanding settlements, they are not serious in solving any of the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
For good articles on this issue read:
Clinton says US seeks 'clean start' in peace talks.
Barak's vision of Dividing Jerusalem is not Israeli policy, Netanyahu says
Palestinians skeptical after US Freeze Failure
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