US gives in to Israel

The US government has backed down on its core demand that Israel put an end to settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories. The liberal-conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung sees this radical change of direction as a serious setback in the Middle East peace process: "As long as one side is allowed to continue annexing the object of negotiation (the land) with impunity in a negotiation process any solution that is reached cannot be perceived as just by both sides. Seen from this perspective serious talks about a two-state solution require a complete freeze on new settlements. ... The US has offered its Israeli allies 20 ultra-modern fighter aircraft worth three billion dollars in exchange for a three-month settlement freeze, and also promised to continue blocking anti-Israeli initiatives within the UN Security Council. The offer was obviously too measly for the coalition dominated by populists and chauvinists and led by Prime Minister Netanyahu. So once again those that see the Palestinian conflict as a problem to be solved by military means have won the day in Israel." 

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