Israel Doesn't Want Peace

For a while it looked like chances for a peace agreement in the Middle East had just gotten a boost. It was announced that both Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to sit down and have talks with a mediator -- U.S. envoy George Mitchell.

Mitchell said, "I'm pleased that the Israeli and Palestinian leadership have accepted indirect talks. We've begun to discuss the structure and scope of these talks, and I will return to the region next week to continue our discussions. As we've said many times, we hope that these will lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible."

After the complete lack of any activity toward a peace agreement during the Bush administration, it looked like things were finally getting back on track. That is, until Israel decided to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of peace. I used to think it was the Palestinians that were a roadblock to peace talks, but in recent years it has been the Israelis.

Almost immediately after the "indirect talks" were announced, Israel announced they would be building 112 new apartments in the Beiter Illit settlement (see picture) in the West Bank. This is not only a violation of the moratorium on building in the West Bank that Israel agreed to last November, most countries believe it is a violation of international law.

It's almost as if the Israelis were trying to sabotage the start of new peace talks, and I believe that's exactly what they are doing. They have figured out that the lack of a peace agreement and the creation of a Palestinian state that will accompany that, works in their favor.

The longer they delay, the more settlements they can build on Palestinian land (and hopefully keep as their own land when it comes time to give the West Bank up to the Palestinians). This is nothing more than a naked and illegal land grab, and so far, they are getting away with it.

And sadly, it looks like the Obama administration is backing down in an effort to keep the peace talks on track. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the new building ". . .does not violate the moratorium that the Israelis previously announced." If this is not a violation, then what is?

The Obama administration is making a serious mistake here. The Palestinians cannot let the Israelis continue to steal their rightful lands through the continued building on the West Bank. It won't be long before the continued violations by Israel scuttles the peace negotiations.

And that is exactly what Israel wants. Once the boundaries of the Palestinian state are set through peace talks, they will be unable to steal any more of the land for themselves.