Israel Today -

"It is premature to feel satisfied with the Israeli delegation's visit to Washington, in light of the relatively marginal role the Biden-Bennett summit meeting dedicated to the Palestinian issue. The United States is not initiating at this stage, at least until the budget is approved in the Knesset in the upcoming November, a political step with the Palestinians. Nor will it put forward – at this stage – an initiative on its part. However, alongside issues such as Iran, Iraq, Gaza, the Iron Dome, or visas, the Palestinian issue was present in the Oval Office. Perhaps this time it was not “the elephant in the room,” but it was the shadow of that “elephant.”

Biden asked Bennett to refrain from unilateral steps in the settlements. But Bennett insisted on the formula of natural growth. According to Israel Bennett, the area built with settlements today reaches 87,000 dunams and is located in only 1.52 percent of the total areas of the West Bank, but in principle – construction, according to the natural growth of the Jewish population numbering half a million people, will extend throughout the settler governing area; i.e., 537,000 dunams (9.38 percent of the West Bank lands) and will include a few thousand housing units each year.

The Americans disagree with this broad Israeli interpretation of “natural growth,” and they are prepared to “swallow” construction inside the barrier with difficulty, and much less than a few thousand. The question “how much exactly will be built and where?” will be clarified in the talks between Israel and the United States, at this stage behind the scenes. This is the agreement. Bennett will try to get as much as possible. The United States will pressure for as little as possible. If there are no understandings, the dispute—which both sides currently avoid defining—will come to light.

The Palestinian issue and the story of Jewish construction were also raised in the Jerusalem context. Biden spoke about Arab families living in Jewish homes in “Shimon HaTzadik,” Sheikh Jarrah, on the front line in Jerusalem, requesting to refrain from an unfair solution. Bennett responded that the issue is now in the hands of the judiciary. The topic of the consulate in East Jerusalem was also raised in the meeting, and the differences between the two sides remained as they were. Nevertheless, Bennett can be satisfied with the lack of a plan from the Biden administration on the Palestinian issue, and that the Americans’ main focus is mostly, if not entirely, on other foreign affairs, alongside Corona. The disagreement with the Americans over the two-state solution, though it remains unchanged, Bennett opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, and Biden and his administration believe it is the only solution – but now they agree not to agree.

The experience in “our neighborhood” indicates that the “peace march,” when it jumps in a visit to the area, is generally ignored as a “bloody march” and terrorism. Palestinians translate “peace” into withdrawals, and terrorism translates “peace” into weakness, and the result is operations. The most prominent example, of course, is the bloody “Oslo march.” Likewise, the “disengagement” from Gaza, but we have had other similar “peaceful” events over the years.

Therefore, it should be hoped that the policy makers and decision makers in the Biden administration know the history of the abundance of “peace.” And we also hope that the Israeli side has those who remind them of the fine line between the peace march and the terrorism march in the Middle East.