clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Obama ensures perpetual compensation for any criticism of Israel

June 5, 2015 at 8:51 am

In a recent interview with Israel’s Channel 2 television, US President Barack Obama said that he envisages difficulties in providing the usual support for Israel in the international arena in future. Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements prior to the elections about his opposition to the two-state paradigm, Obama declared: “The danger is that Israel as a whole loses credibility. Already the international community does not believe that Israel is serious about the two-state solution.”

Netanyahu’s electoral campaign elicited various statements regarding the two-state compromise, which basically reiterated what is already common knowledge, even to mere spectators of the colonisation process. While Netanyahu’s opposition to the internationally-recognised “solution” was discussed as a new phenomenon, his adherence to settlement expansion and international acquiescence thereof, disguised by the usual rhetoric of feeble condemnation, indicates clearly that diplomacy has chosen to sustain a futile proposal, with the ultimate aim of wiping Palestine off the map.

Mentioning how America “pushed away European efforts or other efforts against Israel” at the UN, Obama stated that Israel’s insistence upon settlement expansion is hindering belief in the two-state process. The statement was interpreted as the beginning of US reluctance to use its veto to block UN resolutions criticising Israel. However, Obama also refrained from providing examples of support for proposals regarding the two-state manipulation.

Nevertheless, the twist is evident when Obama discusses Israel’s security and the alleged “moral imperative behind the establishment of Israel and independence of the Palestinians.” Netanyahu’s belligerent attitude is excused given his purported predisposition “to think of security first, to think perhaps that peace is naïve”. Eliminating the fact that Israel’s obsession with security is a necessity for the colonial narrative, Obama continued by prioritising his “solemn commitment” to Israel’s security concerns: “I consider it a moral obligation for us to support a Jewish homeland.”

Hence, besides the obviously false premise of a two-state compromise, which is nothing but a ploy to accelerate the colonial process, Obama is also telling Israel that any attempts at international diplomatic opposition to its expansion will be countered by even more substantive rewards in the form of additional financial and military aid to the settler-colonial state.

In return for Netanyahu’s silence regarding the Iran nuclear agreement, the US has negotiated compensation for Israel in the form of additional fighter jets, Iron Dome missile defence batteries, assistance in developing Arrow 3 missiles and purchasing technology for intelligence and surveillance. According to a report in the Guardian, unnamed Israeli officials have also stated that the current $3 billion annual defence aid package will most likely increase to $3.7 billion after 2017. The comments were dismissed as inaccurate by White House National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey.

Evoking rhetoric about “losing values”, Obama dissects history into sporadic episodes by mentioning the torture of Iraqi prisoners as an example that unleashed furore against US foreign policy worldwide. However, it is evident that Obama has employed the tactic of showcasing a historical sequence that was also rendered as a spectacle due to ongoing impunity. The same tactic has been utilised by the US president in his discussion of Israel, which has allowed a false concept of deterrence to overshadow the brutality of the settler-colonial state which is financed by America.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.