Action needed, not just words

Israel’s lip service about the peace process is exacerbating the violence blighting Palestine

President Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met for the first time since relations reached a new low over Israel's lobbying against the Iran nuclear deal. Saul Loeb / AFP

Much is being made of the conciliatory tone of Monday’s meeting between Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Barack Obama. After relations reached a new low following Israel’s strident lobbying against the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to the two-state solution as the way to peace.

It is, of course, easy for him to declare this commitment now that both the Americans and Israelis see the proximity of next year’s US election as removing any realistic prospect of reviving the moribund peace process. Mr Netanyahu also has a long reputation of saying whatever is expedient, only for his actions to demonstrate his true intentions.

After all these years, he needs to make his actions match his words: halting illegal settlements on Palestinian land, curbing the brutality by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian protesters, allowing the Palestinian economy to develop and making a genuine attempt to broker the creation of a Palestinian state. None of us should hold our breath waiting for this to happen.

When it comes to words, it would be far more rewarding for the world to listen to our foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, who chaired an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers this week in Riyadh. When discussing the surge of violence in the occupied territories and the collapse of the US-brokered peace process, he correctly identified Israel's occupation and the brutal way it is enforced as the root cause of the violence.

“It is unacceptable to speak about reciprocal violence and liken the resistance to aggression,” he said, “particularly amid the repeated aggressions by Jewish settlers against the Palestinians.”

Without even the facade of a peace process, ordinary Palestinians are expressing their frustration and despair through violent means. While violence against innocents by anyone can never be condoned, the best way to stop it is to provide at least the prospect of a peace deal with the Palestinians. For Mr Netanyahu’s words to have any credibility, he needs to act to do just that.