….seeking to reverse Obama’s backtracking from his Cairo speech, in particular, contradicting a later statement that Palestinian East Jerusalem is part of the unified capital of Israel, an issue yet to be negotiated.
This gesture is nothing less than sucking up to the right wing Likud government of Bibi Netanyahu at a time when Netanyahu seems to be putting Obama in his place. Who the hell does he think he is, Bill Clinton once said of the arrogant Bibi.
So now we have another player joining the conflict, the 27 countries comprising the European Union.
East Jerusalem should be Palestinian capital, says EU draft paper, was this headline from Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
Israel accuses EU of destroying prospects of renewed peace talks with document seen as an effort to strengthen Abbas
A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier as a way of “actively pursuing the illegal annexation” of East Jerusalem.
The document says Israel has accelerated its plans for East Jerusalem, and is undermining the Palestinian Authority’s credibility and weakening support for peace talks. “Israel’s actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace-making,” says the document, EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem.
The EU draft is available HERE.
And what is Richard Silverstein‘s take on this new development?:
I’m presuming that the EU has at least consulted with Pres. Obama on this and would not go forward so boldly without at least tacit encouragement from the U.S. Let’s wait and see whether he makes any public statement. It’s doubtful he would say anything positive. But if the EU is going it alone then he might criticize the EU initiative. Somehow I think we won’t hear anything out of Washington and that Obama sees this as a trial balloon for a potential partnership with the EU regarding which the U.S. can join at a later date.
So is this move by the EU a round about way for Obama to strike back?
