-Analysis-
CAIRO — When Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked to explain the recent U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution that would recommend Palestine’s full membership to the United Nations, the response sounded all too familiar: The time is still not right to recognize the Palestinian state.
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Speaking to the press last Friday after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy, Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to Israel’s security, and — as usual — blasted Iran and Hamas, blaming the former for destabilizing the Middle East, and accused the latter of obstructing ceasefire efforts in Gaza.
Yet the U.S. veto was not a surprise; Washington has no intention of abandoning its absolute support of Israel. The two countries relationship can be describe as a traditional marriage — for life.
In mid-February, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Blinken said the U.S. supports the establishment of a state for the Palestinians “in a way that guarantees the security of Israel.” He linked the establishment of such a state to what he views as an “exceptional opportunity” to integrate Israel into the Middle East, with the desire of Arab countries to normalize ties with Tel Aviv.
Some Arab regimes hope the war in Gaza will end in the defeat of Palestinian resistance groups, which disrupted the path to normalization, in order to resume talks to establish ties with Israel, as an extension of the Abraham Accords.
As a smokescreen, these regimes demanded the establishment of a Palestinian state before moving forward with normalization. This led to the U.S. to recycle the term “two-state solution” concerning Palestine. It’s a concept that first appeared as a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict in the 1990s when the Palestinian Liberation Organization abandoned the armed resistance and recognized Israel under the Oslo Accord.
Gaza quagmire
American talk about a two-state solution — along with reports early this year that Washington intended to recognize a Palestinian state whose borders would be determined by negotiations — was nothing but an attempt to cool the issue. The Oct. 7 Hamas attack had brought the issue brought back to the forefront of international politics, after it had taken a backseat during the rush to normalize ties between Arab countries and Israel with the Abraham Accords.
Israel, for its part, has spoiled Washington’s game plan.
Washington was also attempting to save Israel from plunging into the Gaza quagmire, without achieving any of its declared goals. In addition to using the two-state solution to whitewash Israel — accused of war crimes in Gaza — Washington is providing justifications to its partners in the Middle East to launch a U.S.-led defense and security alliance to confront Iran and the axis of resistance that. Of course this alliance would include Israel.
Some Arab regimes have been pressured by the Hamas attack, and pushed into a corner by the aggression and daily massacres in Gaza. These regimes, like their American sponsor, want to eliminate Palestinian resistance groups because they continue to expose these regimes and impact their legitimacy.
Israel, for its part, has spoiled Washington’s game plan. In February, the Israeli Parliament voted to reject the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, because it would amount to a reward for Hamas’s unprecedented terrorism. The legislation said that Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians, and that this settlement can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two parties, and without preconditions.
Israel spoils U.S. plans
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government spoiled the American plan, Washington withdrew the “two-state solution” card and the recognition of Palestine as a permanent UN member. U.S. President Biden sided — as usual — with Israel against his own interests and the strategic interests of his closest ally. The U.S justified its UN Security Council veto by saying it seeks to establish a Palestinian state through negotiations.
Some Arab regimes, including the Palestinian Authority, expressed their shock over Washington’s “unfair, immoral, and unjustified position,” which represented a “blatant aggression against international law and an encouragement to the pursuit of the genocidal war against our people, which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement.
The American trick has been exposed and Israeli intentions, confirmed. Yet the Biden administration is still pushing to reach a deal under which it will pressure the Israeli government to accept a new commitment to establishing a Palestinian state in exchange for normalizing his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
Arab regimes are either complicit in Washington’s game or negligent.
As an incentive to normalize ties with Israel, the White House has offered Riyadh a more formal defense relationship with the U.S., and help the Saudis develop nuclear power for civilian purposes. That deal would also include a fresh push to establish a Palestinian state. U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal that they are “in the final stages of negotiation,” so Tel Aviv can get the prize it has long sought.
While the U.S. is pushing its plans to impose Israel — which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza — on the region as a natural state, it is also working to pressure Iran and expel it from the conflict equation.
The aim of Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus was likely to provoke Tehran to respond in a way that gives the U.S. and Israel justifications for tighten the siege on the only country in the region that — regardless of its intentions or projects — openly supports resistance groups with money and weapons.
As Israel and Iran attack and counterattack, Washington has begun a new attempt to regain control of the Middle East. Whether it succeeds depends on the ability of Palestinian resistance groups. The more they confront the occupying army and its partners, the more they will undermine Washington’s plans.
The United States is employing its tricks to ensure its interests and maintain Israel’s security, stability, and superiority. And Arab regimes are either complicit in Washington’s game or negligent, content with the role of silent observer and follower.
