BY HAITHEM EL-ZABRI
Contributing Editor

Speculating that the so-called “peace process” would fail, as many analysts have done, contributes to the misunderstanding of its true intentions. It is high time for the deceived public to recognize that it is a façade that only serves to facilitate and preserve the status quo and, as such, can be expected to succeed, unless countered by public opposition and grassroots mobilization. An examination of each of the involved parties’ interests would reveal that it is not in any of their interests to reach a genuine peace agreement, nor that they are truly seeking one. The U.S., Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the Quartet, each have their own hidden agendas that need to be exposed so that they can stop manipulating public opinion.
The United States government has no interest in the liberation of the Palestinian people; its disdain for human rights has been proven numerous times in foreign policy around the world – Iraq is just one glaring example. U.S. Middle East policy, driven by corporate interests and the Israel lobby, is to maintain the status quo which includes Israeli regional domination and deterrence, U.S. influence, arms exports and testing, to name a few. The existence of a “peace process” reduces the pressure on the U.S. government to resolve the conflict by pacifying many of those who demand such. President Obama, or whoever is in office at any given time, appears to be making an effort to bring peace to the region, and gets much credit for it in various forms including domestic politics and credibility among Arab and Islamic states. Ambassador Chas Freeman has recently pointed out that “the [US] has defined the issues in ways that preclude rather than promote progress. Its concept of a “peace process” has therefore become the handmaiden of Israeli expansionism rather than a driver for peace.”
As for Israel, the “peace process” provides it with the diplomatic cover to take attention away from its continued ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It pretends to seek peace, duping the international community and the Palestinian public with a carrot of hope, while at the same time expanding its settlement activity, continuing its demolitions of Palestinian homes and confining Palestinians into smaller areas, escalating the Judaization of Jerusalem, and demanding more firmly of the Palestinians to surrender. Any resistance is quickly labeled as terrorism and blame is placed on the Palestinian side for ruining yet another chance for peace. The Israeli public is also duped in the process with the propaganda that their government is truly seeking peace but the Palestinians are just being impossible and hence we have no choice but to “defend ourselves” by oppressing them further. Israel also gets shielded from demands of accountability from its criminal acts, under the pretext that this would undermine the peace negotiations.
The Palestinian Authority’s leaders, whose authority is only derived from U.S. and Israeli support, are committed to playing along with the charade in order to please their sponsors. Saeb Erekat, head of the Negotiations Support Unit, has directly stated to the Israeli public that “I am your partner.” And Mahmoud Abbas, the President whose mandate has long expired, has gone as far as assuring Israel that he will not allow any Palestinian to compromise Israel’s security. Clearly, these men aren’t seeking the results that the Palestinian struggle has made enormous sacrifices for but, simply, to stay in their seats and continue reaping whatever benefits they have prostituted themselves for (perceived power, money, and diplomatic treatment). The resumption of an illusory “peace process” enables them to continue duping the uninformed, as well as justifying increased foreign aid. It also provides a justification of crushing resistance (also under the pretext that this undermines the peace talks!) and maintaining tight control over the Bantustans that they are allowed to control.
As for the Quartet and the international community, they simply wish for this problem to go away; as long as there is a “peace process,” they can get away with “business as usual.” It would become easier for Qatar to sell gas to Israel, for the United Arab Emirates to open trade channels, for European states to appease their pro-Palestinian publics and possibly avoid a rise in anti-Semitism, for “terrorist” elements to lose support, and so on.
Previous peace talks were based on similar interests, and often yielded the same results of maintaining the status quo. In a similar vein, the current talks will also “succeed” in that, possibly even gaining yet more Palestinian concessions in exchange for nothing, and in facilitating aggression against those who haven’t capitulated to U.S. control. Hence, such talks must be opposed and this charade ended. The Palestinian Authority, itself a product of peace talks and itself a disguise to aid in Israel’s repression of the Palestinian people, should also be dismantled, now that it no longer enjoys any semblance of legitimacy, and Israel should be held responsible for the continued occupation of Palestine. Despite the Palestinian Authority to muffle such demands, Palestinians voices are nonetheless getting louder. It is time to do away with both the peace process charade and the U.S. sponsored quisling authority, and the international community needs to respect these Palestinian choices.

Haithem El-Zabri is a Palestinian-American activist jailed by the Palestinian Authority for expressing opposition against the Annapolis talks in 2007. He is currently the director of PalestineOnlineStore.com, a website marketing Palestinian products worldwide.

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