When closely examined it is clear that Israel’s publicly held positions relating to Iran and their commitment to the peace process have been contradicted by their own actions. In the U.S. these contradictions are largely ignored.

Israel often voices concern about Iran’s support for Shia militias, namely Hezbollah in Lebanon. However Israel, rather than standing on their own, relies heavily on U.S. weaponry to carry out military operations on their boarders, most recently in the Gaza Strip killing and wounding hundreds of civilians.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank based in the UK, has recently confirmed that Israel has nuclear weaponry; despite Israel’s official position of “nuclear ambiguity.” Yet Israel is not shy about calling for harsh action to be taken against Iran for nuclear energy. This contradiction reveals the reality that Israel is not fearful of the actual use of a hypothetical Iranian nuclear weapon. Iran must not have the right to a deterrent for an Israeli attack. Israel is concerned about the rise of Iran and Shiite stature in the region in the wake of nuclear proliferation in Iran, because such a development could very well lead to the end of Zionism. Israel would likely continue to exist, but it would not enjoy the leverage it now does at the bargaining table (they would not be able to impose their will simply through intimidation) and any hopes for a larger state of Israel would become improbable.

Israel’s position of nuclear ambiguity as well as surviving on large supplies of U.S. weaponry are both major concerns for the region, both issues however are trumped by the expansion of existing settlements in the West Bank.

As long as Israelis continue to build on the land that the current “road map” to peace would make the eventual sovereign state of Palestine, the Israeli/Palestinian peace process is undermined.

Israel has been successful to a large extent in portraying the problem of the ever expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a side issue in the peace process. This despite the fact that an early and essential part of the official road map to a two state solution calls for the halting of any new Israeli settlement in the West Bank, as well as expansion of already existing settlements. Seldom are Americans shown in major media outlets maps of the current West Bank with Israeli settlements.

I have included on this page a 2007 map complied by the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The map shows the maze of Israeli checkpoints that Palestinians must navigate to move from one canton to the next. Also notice the dense cluster of checkpoints and planned barriers surrounding Western Jerusalem, making it difficult for Palestinians to have Western Jerusalem as their center.

Most current Israeli construction in the West Bank is expansion of already existing settlements, but construction of infrastructure to connect the Israeli settlements within the West Bank, while at the same time hold potential to integrate the settlements into the Israel. Also, the building of Israeli “security walls” amount to annexation of large portions of the West Bank.

A concrete example of Israel’s lack of commitment to the peace process will be displayed next month. The example will take place when President Shimon Peres will contradict any pledge to the peace process by openly attending a celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the settlement of Ariel. Ariel is 20 miles from the Israeli border (green line) and is the fifth largest Israeli settlement in the West Bank. For Peres to claim to be interested in a solution to the violence only to turn around and celebrate the root cause of the violence is discouraging.

The continuing settlement expansion not only hurts Israeli creditability in the peace process but also undermines Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ creditability and general ability to present possible two state solutions to his own people.

Israel carries out all of these acts with the full support of the government in Washington. There may be a verbal public scolding from time to time about Israeli settlements or use of force, but the words from Washington are always followed up by more support.

Update: Israel has just announced plans to build 256 new homes in the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit.

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