Sep 4, 2014

It seems as simple as pushing a button. Palestinian-Israeli politics have shifted from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, as if the 51-day war against Gaza never happened. One week after the announcement of the permanent cease-fire by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel is back to confiscating Palestinian lands for settlements, Jewish religious zealots are infiltrating Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Palestinian internal bickering is back to its prewar level.

How did the situation change so fast? What happened to all the rhetoric about the need to double down and find a political solution to the Palestinian conflict? How can Israel get away with making the biggest land grab in 30 years? Does the fact that US-Israeli relations are at an all-time low allow or encourage such behavior?

Israeli officials have said that the West Bank appropriation was related to the June kidnapping and killing of three Israelis near the area. It is more likely, however, an attempt to improve the political standing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sees real threats from the right flank of his Likud Party and other settler-loving politicians.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians are having problems developing an effective liberation strategy. The steadfastness of the Palestinian fighters and their ability to shake up the Israelis have increased the popularity of groups such as Hamas and strengthened the "resistance model." To counter this new popular sentiment, the Ramallah-based leadership is trying to forge ahead with a negotiating strategy that has teeth. This need has pushed Abbas and company to develop a time-based initiative. The ideas that Abbas is presenting to US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Arab League involve leveraging joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other United Nations agencies. Abbas wants to offer to waive the idea of not joining the ICC in return for a serious mechanism for the peace process.

Getting back to serious talks might partially explain why the well-received Palestinian national reconciliation is under pressure. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, it is said, has been asked to give his blessing to the Abbas initiative, but has refused to do so, instead insisting that only "resistance," meaning military resistance, will work with Israel.