ISRAEL ATTEMPTS TO MITIGATE UNREST AMONG PALESTINIANS AS OBAMA ATTEMPTS TO MITIGATE DAMAGE TO US-ISRAELI RELATIONSHIP

Israel has lifted the closure on the West Bank and pulled its access restrictions on Al-Aqsa compound, Haaretz reports.  The announcement could be too little too late, as a day of clashes in East Jerusalem has given way to clashes across the West Bank, reports Ma'an News Agency. 

In Nablus, the student senate suspended classes at An-Najah University for one hour.   Makram Daraghma, student senate leader at An-Najah, "said students marched throughout the halls of the university in support of Muslim and Christian sites throughout the occupied Palestinian territories."  South of Nablus, there were further student marches that were met with Israeli tear-gas canisters and stun grenades. 

In Beit Ummar, Hebron, several suffered from tear-gas inhalation during a confrontation between citizens and Israeli military forces who arrived in the village.  An Israeli spokesman called the Palestinian actions a "violent and illegal riot."  In Hebron's city center, yet another cycle of demonstration-clash-"riot dispersal means"-detention commenced, as Hebronites collided with Israeli military units. 

This morning, Ma'an reports, more clashes have been reported in Nablus and near the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement in Anoun. 

The clashes Tuesday across East Jerusalem neighborhoods were prompted by the Hamas call for a "Day of Rage" in addition to the frustration already brewing in the city.  The dedication of Hurva Synagogue was the named impetus, but tension has been ratcheting up in East Jerusalem and the West Bank since the West Bank was sealed and access to the Al-Aqsa compound was restricted Thursday of last week, that anger and frustration building on top of tension already wrought by the Heritage Trail additions of two West Bank holy sites and the now infamous settlement expansion in East Jerusalem that brought peace talks to a screeching halt last week.

As Israel returns its control of Palestinian movement to relative normalcy, the Israeli police in Jerusalem say thousands of troops will remain active, but Wednesday no further disturbances have been reported.  Police chief David Cohen recognizes yesterday's violence was some of the worst clashes seen in East Jerusalem in months, but he does not believe Tuesday's events were cause enough to start the Third Intifada: "We are seeing signs of disorderly conduct," said Cohen, "but that is only a headline. We must be careful about characterizations and remarks being made."

Palestinian Response

The PA in the West Bank has been quiet about the unrest, mostly working to keep the peace in its cities rather than see its citizens been detained by Israeli forces.  In Gaza, however, Hamas is dialing up the rhetoric, Ma'an reports.  In a televised statement, Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh threatened Tuesday that "a religious war will enflame Israel," and he called for an Arab-Palestinian campaign to support Jerusalem.  He also called on the Obama administration to stop Israel's "blind" policies and referred to Tuesday's synagogue dedication and restrictions on Al-Aqsa compound as the "Judaization" of Jerusalem.  The Israel foreign ministry condemned his remarks.

US-Israeli relationship

After last week's strong words and demands from Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the US is softening its language to hopefully move its relationship with Israel back in a productive direction.  Friday Secretary Clinton demanded settlement construction in East Jerusalem stop, which Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet flatly rejected.  So what, if any, tricks does Obama have up his sleeve?

According to the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, "Obama is not trying to destroy America's relationship with Israel," but he may very well be trying change the cast of characters in it.  Says Goldberg with much confidence after a number of White House and non-White House phone calls, "He's trying to organize [Israeli opposition leader] Tzipi Livni's campaign for prime minister, or at least for her inclusion in a broad-based centrist government."  In Goldberg's reasoning, "no progress will be made on any front if [Foreign Minister] Avigdor Lieberman's far-right party, Yisrael Beiteinu, and [Interior Minister] Eli Yishai's fundamentalist Shas Party, remain in Netanyahu's surpassingly fragile coalition," but progress could be wrought from a coalition government that is more realpolitik and less Zionist fervor.

So what is the goal? The goal is force a rupture in the governing coalition that will make it necessary for Netanyahu to take into his government Livni's centrist Kadima Party (he has already tried to do this, but too much on his terms) and form a broad, 68-seat majority in Knesset that does not have to rely on gangsters, messianists and medievalists for votes. It's up to Livni, of course, to recognize that it is in Israel's best interests to join a government with Netanyahu and Barak, and I, for one, hope she puts the interests of Israel ahead of her own ambitions.

Two states: "A win for the Palestinians, and a win for the Israelis" - PJ Crowley

Stephen Walt, famed father of international relations thought, weighs in on the future of the US-Israel relationship as well.  Says Walt, the Israel lobby, namely AIPAC, has chided the US for not being a supportive ally of Israel, but Walt says the opposite is true - by pushing for the two-state solution even at the cost of friendly language, the Obama administration is trying to save Israel from becoming an apartheid state, which is what Defense Minister Ehud Barak said is going to happen if Israel continues its occupation of Palestinians.  So the two-state solution is in Israel's best interest.

A two state solution is also the best guarantee of Israel's long-term future. By showing real backbone this time and explaining to the American people why his approach is right, Obama could be a true friend to the Jewish state.

Of course, helping the PA achieve the two-state solutions aids our foreign operations elsewhere, says Walt.  As CENTCOM comnmander Gen. Petraeus has warned, America's continued perceived bias toward Israel hurts the US position is other Arab and Muslim countries, potentially endangering troops and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Said Petraeus:

"The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests in the AOR [area of operational responsibility]. Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large-scale armed confrontations. The conflict foments anti-American sentiment, due to a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of U.S. partnerships with governments and peoples in the AOR and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support. The conflict also gives Iran influence in the Arab world through its clients, Lebanese Hizballah and Hamas."

Walt ends with a final endorsement of Obama's efforts and a warning to what he calls the "status quo" lobby:

In fact, these people [(AIPAC, politicians like Joe Lieberman and John McCain, and the evangelical "Christian Zionists")] are false friends of Israel, because their recommended course of action will keep it on its current dangerous path. So when you hear them defend the special relationship, or when they accuse Obama or Mitchell or Biden or Clinton of putting unwarranted pressure on Israel, ask them what their long-term solution is. Do they think Israel should control all the territory that once was Mandate Palestine? If so, do they favor a one-party democracy in which Jews and Arabs get equal voting rights, or an apartheid state in which Jews rule over stateless Palestinians? Or are they in favor of ethnic cleansing, the same way that former House Speaker Dick Armey was? Or perhaps they support Netanyahu's bizarre version of "two-states," where Israel keeps all of Jerusalem and confines the Palestinians to a handful of dismembered Bantustans under Israeli control? Those are the only alternatives to a viable two-state solution, and if you don't like them, then you should give Obama credit for his efforts and hope that he holds his ground this time. Because time really is running out.

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