Saturday, November 21, 2009

Obama Returns to Greater Middle East Mess


Analysis by Jim Lobe

"......On top of all this, events in Israel and the Occupied Territories – most recently, Israel's approval this week of the construction of 900 housing units in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Gilo in East Jerusalem – has dealt a perhaps fatal blow to the Oslo framework that has guided the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" since 1993.

Coming after threats by senior Palestinian officials to resign in protest over Washington's refusal to back up its earlier demands for a halt to all Jewish settlement expansion, Obama himself warned Wednesday that the latest action by the Netanyahu government "embitters the Palestinians in a way that could end up being very dangerous".

Even before the Gilo announcement, experts here were warning that a third intifada could break out at any time, with potentially disastrous consequences not only for Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects, but also for Obama's efforts to restore Washington's image throughout the region."

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