In a move which came as no surprise to anyone, the Swedish government formally recognized the state of Palestine last week. The responses from Jerusalem and Ramallah were predictable and diametrically opposite.
The Palestinian President congratulated the Swedes for the diplomatic gesture and their courage, whereas in Israel the reactions were a mixture of anger and dismissiveness. Israel re-called her ambassador in Stockholm to Israel for consultation and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in his typical ‘tactful’ diplomatic manner, advised his Swedish counterpart that "Sweden must understand that relations in the Middle East are much more complicated than self-assembly furniture at Ikea.” He might score some cheap political points with Israeli public opinion by offering these words of wisdom. Nevertheless, it epitomises an Israeli government which is arrogant in dealing with the world and is detached from the mood towards it in the international community.
A disastrous course of collision with a large part of the international community appears to be the logical conclusion of this Israeli behaviour. It is not just confrontation with its enemies anymore, but with some of its closest friends and allies. Israeli attitude towards the Palestinians and the peace process is resulting in widening cracks with countries around the world. Frustration manifests itself through unilateral actions or severe reprimands of Israeli policies by other governments. It looks more likely than ever that if Israel is not ready to negotiate with the Palestinians in good faith on a two state solution, the Swedish act will not remain an isolated one. It is likely to be followed by other countries, not to mention a renewed support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
A disastrous course of collision with a large part of the international community appears to be the logical conclusion of this Israeli behavior
Yossi Mekelberg
Israel’s confidence has grown in recent years to the extent that it believes that it is invincible and also immune to international scrutiny and pressure. A combination of a strong performing economy, military superiority, a divided region and an inept international community, led the Israeli government to believe that it could pursue cost-free obstructive policies; policies which prevent an independent Palestinian state from ever becoming a reality. Through settlement expansion, oppressive occupation and playing divide and rule among the Palestinians, a political solution leading to two independent states, Israel and Palestine, is fast becoming a fading prospect.
This is exactly what irks many in the international community. For years the international community have been weighing the best approach which would yield the desired outcome of bringing the Israeli Palestinian conflict to a peaceful end. So far all of their actions, or inactions, failed to bring this conflict to an end. An enormous amount of international energy and resources have been diverted in support of making peace in the Middle East a reality, with a very poor return. Diplomatic efforts to bring peace ended on more than one occasion in outbreaks of violence. The view, from the very early days of the Oslo process, has been that mollycoddling Israel will result in its readiness to demonstrate flexibility in the peace negotiations. Twenty-one years later, and failure after failure, increasingly led the international community to reverse its view. It now believed that if the option of the two state solution is to still have some faint chance, it will not happen unless Israel’s arm is twisted.
The Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom made it clear in her statement that her country’s decision was aimed not only to confirm the obvious, that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, but also to serve as a catalyst for other countries to follow. Only two weeks ago, the British parliament voted in a massive majority, though not in a binding motion, in support of Palestinian independence, and similar voices can be heard in other countries; one can identify that a pattern is emerging within the international community. To be sure, one can only be surprised that this trend has not gathered momentum long before.
Two years ago the U.N. General Assembly vote to recognise Palestine as a non-member observer received overwhelming support. A resolution for full recognition of Palestine as a state did not pass a year earlier, only because the U.S. vetoed it in the Security Council. Israeli intransigence in the peace negotiations, compiled with oppressive occupation and expansion of settlements have provided legitimacy and impetus for those who support imposing economic measures against her as never before. Describing the Swedish decision as premature is absurd considering that twenty-one years of the peace process failed to bring an end to forty-seven years of occupation, and in the meantime Israeli construction of settlements is destroying the viability of a two state solution. Moreover, asserting that recognizing a Palestinian state without a peace agreement encourages extremism, ignores that depriving the Palestinians of their right to self-determination is by itself a source of extremism driven by this and other injustices.
Loss of faith
Nowhere is the frustration with the Israeli government greater at the moment than in Washington. Geoffrey Goldberg’s article in The Atlantic last week, based on a briefing by a senior official in the Obama administration, revealed the extent of the distrust it has in the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. It is not only a loss of faith in his integrity, but also in his leadership. He is seen as a politician who has interest only in preserving his power, but not as a leader who is capable of taking far-reaching and courageous decisions. On the bright side, it leads the American administration to believe that his stuttering leadership is stopping him from ever sanctioning a military attack on Iran. However, on the flip side he is also unable to find the needed courage to make the necessary historical compromise with the Palestinians. He is scared of the extreme right wing members of his own party and of his coalition in government. He would rather risk a clash with the world, with potentially dire consequences for Israel, than risk losing his job. Secretary of State John Kerry apologized to Netanyahu for the abrupt language used by an anonymous source in Goldberg’s article. He was, nonetheless, neither quick to distance himself from the comment nor overtly apologetic for the gist of the accusations against the Israeli prime minister.
With increasing likelihood of the resumption of large scale violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, a rift with friends and allies can be only described as a folly. Without a rapid and dramatic change of course by the Israeli government, which seems very unlikely, the country will face inevitable confrontation with the world and growing isolation. The counter quip from the Swedish foreign minister toward Lieberman was that she, “…will be happy to send Israeli FM Lieberman an Ikea flat pack to assemble. He'll see it requires a partner, co-operation and a good manual." The Israeli government will serve its people best by following this piece of advice before Israel becomes a pariah state.
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Yossi Mekelberg is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, where he is involved with projects and advisory work on conflict resolution, including Track II negotiations. He is also the Director of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program at Regent’s University in London, where he has taught since 1996. Previously, he was teaching at King’s College London and Tel Aviv University. Mekelberg’s fields of interest are international relations theory, international politics of the Middle East, human rights, and international relations and revolutions. He is a member of the London Committee of Human Rights Watch, serving on the Advocacy and Outreach committee. Mekelberg is a regular contributor to the international media on a wide range of international issues and you can find him on Twitter @YMekelberg.
