Khaled Amayreh in occupied Jerusalem

Palestinians survey the damage to a building caused by an Israeli air
strike in the Islamic University in Gaza (photo: Reuters)

To be seen as forthcoming, Israel's prime minister has tabled a new peace initiative. It is as empty as all prior Israeli charades.

Spurred by looming international pressure on Israel over the stalemated peace process with the Palestinians, and especially worried about the possible negative ramifications for Israel of ongoing revolutions in the Arab world, particularly Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he was preparing to launch a new peace initiative for resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The new initiative, which Netanyahu hopes will attract large publicity, is based on the concept of creating an interim Palestinian state on 60 per cent of the West Bank, with temporary borders, but with little or no sovereignty.

According to information leaked from the Israeli press, the new plan will leave the Israeli army in the Jordan Valley and in most of the so-called Area-C, or areas outside major Palestinian population centres. None of the Jewish settlements would be dismantled and work would be continued in the so-called "legal settlements" (settlements built with Israeli government approval).

"The Palestinians are not ready to reach a final status agreement to end the conflict in light of the instability in the region," claimed Netanyahu. He added: "We don't want to evade a final status agreement, but an interim agreement is the way to get there."

The Palestinians, who have rejected the new "public relations gambit", are dismissive of talk about an "interim state" and "temporary borders". They fear that an "interim state" would be a sly Israeli prescription for stealing and annexing up to 50 per cent of the West Bank.

The proposed initiative is very much old wine in new bottles. Most Israeli commentators and columnists view it as no more than a PR stunt aimed at "keeping the world busy" and forestalling international, especially European, pressure on Israel to be more forthcoming with regards to peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are now completely stalled following President Obama's recent admission that he had failed to get the Israeli government to freeze Jewish settlement expansion in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinian leaders, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas, have adamantly refused to resume talks with Israel absent a genuine settlement freeze.

Indeed, Abbas has accused Israel of harbouring ill will and malicious intent, namely in seeking to steal and devour as much of the occupied Palestinian territory as possible before a peace deal is reached, a charge that seems quite plausible. Palestinian official Nabil Shaath scoffed at the new Israeli plan, calling it a public relations stunt and theatrical feat.

"Netanyahu is trying to circumvent everything that has to do with international law and international legitimacy. There is no hope for peace with a government that doesn't recognise any of the outstanding agreements. Besides, we will not accept the stationing of a single Israeli soldier on our soil," Shaath said.

It is not clear why Netanyahu has chosen this time to come up with a new peace plan, however much of a sham that initiative may be. The Obama administration, which alienated the Palestinians and other Arabs when it vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution condemning Jewish settlement expansion last month, seems to expect Netanyahu to reciprocate by offering "something really genuine".

On the other hand, the Israeli prime minister hopes that he can keep up his hawkish government by getting key members like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to support the plan. Lieberman, an extremist who advocates the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, is a chief proponent of an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders. He has proposed the creation of a long-term Palestinian state on 45-50 per cent of the West Bank, ostensibly with the intention of annexing the rest of the occupied territory to Israel.

Lieberman and likeminded Israeli leaders seem to calculate that Israel will eventually be able to perpetuate on the ground, by creating more "demographic realities" and frustrating Palestinian demands for a state along 1967 borders, advantageous to Israel and disadvantageous to the Palestinians. And it is highly likely that Netanyahu is planning to launch his initiative, with a lot of fanfare, in the knowledge -- even in certainty -- that the Palestinians would reject it outright.

A new meaningless initiative would cost Israel nothing, especially with decisive US backing of Israeli positions. Netanyahu probably hopes that the initiative would help throw the proverbial political ball back into the Palestinian court, as well as help Israel with its public relations claims that it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who are really stalling peace talks and therefore impeding the conclusion of a peace agreement.

Netanyahu, like other Israeli leaders, is immensely worried about recent strategic developments in Egypt. He feels that in order to forestall anti-Israeli attitudes by the new rulers of Egypt he needs a lot of American pressure on the new regime in Cairo.

Meanwhile, the appointment of Nabil Al-Arabi as the new Egyptian foreign minister may be bad news for Israel. An accomplished diplomat and veteran of Israeli-Egyptian post- Camp David era negotiations, Al-Arabi should have no illusions about Israeli ploys and prevarication.

Egypt has already eased up travel restrictions at the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. More goodwill gestures from Egypt towards the Palestinians are expected. (end)