| By Rami G. Khouri | |
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"The most significant development on the Arab-Israeli scene last week was not U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s announcement of a vague agreement by Palestinian and Israeli leaders to resume negotiations for a peace agreement. It was the European Union’s decision to formally have its 28 member states differentiate between Israel and the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, and to refrain from any official dealings with Israeli institutions in these occupied areas. The EU directive issued by foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton prohibits funding, investing in, or awarding grants and prizes to any organizations that are active in settlements in the occupied territories. Ashton also said that any new agreements with Israel should include a provision excluding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, which are not part of Israel. The implications of the decision can only contribute constructively to the quest for a comprehensive negotiated resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, for several reasons......
Fifth, such moves frighten Israel perhaps more than any other actions that could be taken by Arab or international parties, because they make the loudest and clearest possible statement equating Western political reactions to Israeli behavior with similar global punitive reactions decades ago to South Africa’s apartheid system. That criminal apartheid regime was finally changed into a pluralistic South African democracy for all.
Something similar probably must occur in Israel and Palestine in order to reach a peaceful end to the conflict, allowing all the people there to live in peace and equal dignity. The EU move may hasten that day. How refreshing it is to see a coalition of countries with considerable global power striking a blow for the rule of law and human decency."
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