Israel sets limits to negotiations with Palestinians

Not content with permanently extending and rupturing negotiations over the two-state compromise, Israel has announced a new twist to the internationally accepted framework. According to Haaretz, a senior Israeli official declared that it would only engage in talks with the EU as long as settlement construction would remain off the agenda. The talks, according to the official, would centre upon “improving the economic situation for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

The EU initiative, which consisted of a request to initiate talks regarding the West Bank and the defunct two-state paradigm, was proposed to Israel in November 2014. Electoral preparations and the formation of the new government hindered a prompt response from Israel, according to the official.

Another condition imposed by Israel is the avoidance of discussing a permanent agreement with the Palestinians. The result would be a diluted semblance of negotiations – one that would limit political commitment while imposing even more conditions upon Palestinians, including permanent acquiescence and dependence.

While seemingly veering away from the usual negotiations, the latest Israeli response to the EU proposal has exacerbated the “waiting” game inflicted upon Palestinians. Discussing the economic situation in the West Bank while avoiding the topic of settlement expansion will ultimately result in additional economic benefits for Israel, as it expropriates more land and utilises Palestinian territory for its own gain – a continuation of the early colonisation policies that paved the way for the inception of the fabricated state.

EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg Andersen had declared the EU’s intention to preserve the two-state hypothesis, stating that “a series of red lines” would be drawn up, leading to sanctions if Israel crossed them. Meanwhile in recent weeks, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas in a bid to seek reassurances of continued PA subjugation with regard to future negotiations. For every half-hearted initiative conjured up by the EU, individual initiatives seeking to protect Israel from any consequences are consistently applied, in order to reassure Israel of the international community’s perpetual support.

Israel has also been conducting studies with regard to a complete boycott of Israel within the EU – such a move would, according to the Israeli Finance Ministry, cost the settler-colonial state $23.3 billion in losses. The commissioned study departed from a worst case scenario that would shift Israel’s status from Western ally to a state targeted both politically and through NGOs.

Whether discussions incorporate or omit the two-state compromise, the outcome will be ingrained within complicity and impunity. Punitive measures against Israel have been discussed, drawn up as a plan and heralded in the media, yet implementation is always halted by further discussions and concessions. The latest dissociation by Israel is effectively a plan to increase its settlement expansion plans while feigning cooperation with the PA to improve the economic situation. If the EU agrees to this proposal it will constitute further proof of its complicity with Israel’s colonial enterprise.

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