BETWEEN THE LINES Q&A with Les Leopold

Between the Lines Q&A

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for release Dec. 4, 2009

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Washington's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Negotiation Deadlock
Damages America's Standing Worldwide

RealAudio

MP3

Interview with Nihad Awad,
executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
conducted by Melinda Tuhus

israelpalestine

Despite reports of a possible prisoner exchange between the Israeli government and Hamas, the Islamic party that controls Gaza, several recent events have decreased the likelihood of a just settlement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After months in which President Obama insisted that Israel must stop all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a pre-condition of peace talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for agreeing to slow down, but not stop, the building of new settler housing. Construction has actually sped up in Arab East Jerusalem, where Palestinian families are being evicted from their ancestral homes to make way for new apartments for Israeli Jews.

In frustration with recent events, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared he would not run for re-election as head of the Palestinian Authority, citing the utter lack of progress toward negotiations and a resolution to the conflict. The Obama administration voted in the United Nations against accepting the Goldstone Report that accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the three-week Israeli assault on Gaza -- and recommended human rights investigations be conducted on both sides. The U.S. Congress voted to condemn the report as biased against Israel and concluded it should not be the basis for any further action.

Between The Lines' Melinda Tuhus spoke with Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The organization works primarily on civil and human rights issues on behalf of Muslims in the U.S., but Awad, an American citizen of Palestinian descent, explains why Washington's role in the stalemate in Middle East peace negotiations reflects negatively on America around the world.

NIHAD AWAD: I think there should be harmony within the U.S. officials on their position. President Barack Obama, when he went to Cairo, he declared for the whole world that the continuation of the building of settlements on illegal land in Palestine -- in the West Bank or in Jerusalem -- is going to make it very difficult to achieve peace. And the one who was talking was the president of the United States, who promised change and new policies different from the past. He's not undermining Israel by saying so; he was just trying to recommit America to the values of justice and peace by signaling to Israel that the illegal building of settlements should stop, should be frozen -- welcome news to so many, including Israelis who believe what Israel is doing is illegal and unethical.

So, fast forward, when Hillary Clinton went to Israel and met with the prime minister, she praised him and did not really push him to commit himself to the freezing of the settlements; that was seen as a going back on the U.S. promise to changing the policies and it shows we're still using the same old tools, and we're going to get the same results.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Nihad Awad, recently the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas -- who is definitely considered a moderate -- said he will not run for re-election as head of the Palestinian Authority in January, and even indicated he might step down before that, because he feels there's been no progress made in resolving the issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's not even clear there'll be an election in January, because the two parts of the occupied territories -- Gaza and the West Bank -- are split between the factions Hamas and Fatah. What do you think the Palestinians should do at this point?

NIHAD AWAD: Well, first of all, the onus is really on Israel; Israel has most of the cards in her hands, and the U.S. has huge leverage over Israel. So if we as Americans and our government, wish to exercise the leverage we have on Israel to commit itself to peace and the peace process and to stop building the settlements -- stop eating the Palestinian land on which the future Palestinian state should be built -- if we fail to do this, the Palestinians have little [room] to maneuver, and whether President Abbas will run for the election or not, it becomes like an internal Palestinian issue that came as a result of Israel's unwillingness to make the job of Abbas easier, or just normal. They made it impossible for him to show the Palestinian people that a leadership like him can work with Israel, and he is a partner. But we found out that Israel is not willing to be a partner, and that put the pressure on Abbas -- it really exposes him that he has nothing to show his own people, and Israel has weakened Abbas to the point that he has no face to face the people and to continue to run. And, of course, the other scandal that Abbas found himself into is when he deferred and asked for the delaying of the Goldstone report, which holds Israel accountable on human rights violations. That weakened Abbas's position also before the Palestinian public.

BETWEEN THE LINES: And then Congress took a non-binding vote in which the vast majority of members excoriated the Goldstone Report as biased against Israel, even though the report also criticized Hamas for human rights violations. What do you think of Congress on this issue?

NIHAD AWAD: Many members of Congress take their constituents for granted. They think if they support Israel unconditionally and blindly, because of the pro-Israel groups' pressure on them, that they will go unchecked and unnoticed. If they realized the damage they cause to the image and reputation of the U.S. as a government and as a nation in the eyes of people around the world, I think many constituents will call members of Congress to say, "What are you doing? You are damaging our interests. The way you are voting in Congress, you are endangering the lives of American soldiers who are serving on America's behalf abroad, because you are projecting America as being one-sided, that America doesn't care about the suffering of the Palestinian people, that America doesn't care about international laws," and this all because of the blind support that members of Congress give Israel by supporting it without any "accountability".

Contact the Council on American-Islamic Relations by calling (202) 488-8787, or visit their website at www.cair.com

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Melinda Tuhus is a producer of Between The Lines, which can be heard on more than 45 radio stations and in RealAudio and MP3 on our website at www.btlonline.org. This interview excerpt was featured on the award-winning, syndicated weekly radio newsmagazine, Between The Lines for the week ending Dec. 4, 2009. This Between The Lines Q&A was compiled by Melinda Tuhus and Anna Manzo.

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