By: Editorial, Haaretz

24.08.09

U.S. President Barack Obama intends in about a month to present his initiative for peace in the Middle East, at the heart of which is the renewal of negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, this time with active American mediation. Obama's envoy, George Mitchell, is to meet this week in London with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to reach an understanding about the freezing of construction in the settlements, in exchange for which the Arab countries would move toward normalization of ties with Israel. These mutual steps are intended to create a new and conciliatory atmosphere in the region, which would leverage the diplomatic process. 

Stopping the momentum of construction and settlement expansion in the West Bank is not an Israeli concession to the Americans or the Palestinians. Rather, it is in Israel's own interest. The time has come to put an end to the huge wastes of the settlement project, which only damages Israel diplomatically and security-wise, deepening the conflict and threatening to cause the two-state solution to fail. Netanyahu also seems to grasp the diplomatic reality, even if he is still not prepared to say so, as evinced by his decision not to issue new construction permits in the settlements, even without a formal declaration of a construction freeze.

If, in exchange for the freezing of construction in the settlements, Netanyahu manages to obtain a renewal of ties with the Gulf states that were severed during the intifada and Operation Cast Lead, it would be an Israeli tactical and diplomatic achievement. However, the cessation of construction must not be conditioned on the renewal of such ties. More importantly, Israel must not try once again to pull any fast ones in the form of of pretexts, and new terminology for continued development beyond the Green Line and provocative settlements in East Jerusalem. Israel must freeze construction without circumventions and provocations.

A construction freeze is not the goal, but the means to helping reach the essence: an Israeli-Palestinian agreement to end hostilities and the realization of the two-state solution, which even the prime minister now supports.

In his meeting this week with Mitchell, Netanyahu needs to focus on removing obstacles that delay the renewal of talks with the Palestinians, instead of continuing to insist on limited construction in the settlements. If Netanyahu wants an agreement with the Palestinians, as he promised, he must save his political strength for the unavoidable conflict with his partners on the right - not wear it down in detrimental feuding with the United States.