November 17, 2021–Amid a rejection of the two-state solution by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Norway’s Foreign Ministry is hosting talks today with the goal of building up rule of law in the Palestinian territories.
Today’s meeting in Oslo, Norway represents the first in-person ministerial meeting by the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) in two years. Norway’s newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt led the discussion.
It’s significant on multiple fronts. First, Norway is often instrumental in achieving breakthroughs in diplomacy. Earlier this year, the country’s representatives achieved a solution for aid workers to continue to use a border crossing between Turkey and Syria. Later they helped bring Venezuelan leaders together with its opposition in Mexico.
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Second, the talks focus on strengthening governance, rule of law and democracy for the Palestinian territories. According to Norway’s ministry, “The aim of the AHLC is to develop the institutional and economic foundation for a Palestinian state based on a negotiated two-state solution.”
The weak — and some would add corrupt — Palestinian governance has been a roadblock to talks and foreign aid.
Oslo Meeting
Today’s talks in Oslo also focused on the economy there, which has been hit hard by the pandemic.
Participants included Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Israeli Minister of Regional Cooperation Esawi Frej, and representatives from the United States, the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and other countries, according to a UN statement about it.
Two-State Solution for ‘Lasting Peace’
Last month and earlier in November, multiple state leaders expressed support for the two-state solution. Many said it is the only way to “achieve lasting peace” for Israelis and Palestinians.
Yet last week, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his government would not negotiate with Palestinians. It came during a debate with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Knesset (Israel’s unicameral parliament). Bennett referred to the possibility of a Palestinian state as a “terrorist state.”
“I was asked to respond to political negotiations for the establishment of a terrorist state in the heart of the country,” Bennett said, according to Israel National News. “Here is my answer: There are no political negotiations for the establishment of a terrorist state in the heart of the country.”
Is ‘Annex’ Another Word For Ethnic Cleansing?
Israel’s flat rejection of a Palestinian state is impacting people there in severe ways. In 2020, Israel announced plans to annex the Palestinian territories. Israel already occupied the territories. So what the plan to “annex” it means is — apparently — a state-sanctioned push to drive out, or ethnically cleanse, the population.
This Fall, the envoy for the United Nations to the Middle East, warned the UN Security Council that an “increasingly desperate reality” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). As the GER reported, Israel is demolishing Palestinian homes, allowing Israeli settlers to build more communities in the Palestinian territories, and standing by while Israeli settlers terrorize Palestinian children with impunity.
The state-sponsored violence against the Palestinians is not only impacting them, it is also inciting revenge attacks against Israeli citizens, Tor Wennesland, the UN envoy for the Middle East recently reported. He warned of an “increasingly desperate reality” in the occupied Palestinian territories and a “fragile security situation” for the entire area.
Ongoing Terror Campaign
It appears the Israeli government is running an ongoing terror campaign against the Palestinians and the Bedouin communities as a method to push the population out.
Moreover, according to Wennesland, the situation is growing worse. During the past several times he spoke to the UN Security Council, the UN envoy told of kidnappings of children by Israeli settlers, evictions, and demolitions of homes, killing by military and police forces, and arrests of human rights defenders, journalists, and activists.
U.S. Aims To Build Up Palestinian Governance With Aid
Meanwhile, the U.S. government appears weak to respond.
The U.S. State Department, although it is engaged in speaking with both sides, is relatively helpless to assert a solution for peace. The United States continues to support a two-state solution, a spokesperson asserted. He refused, however, to refute or rebuke Bennett’s rejection of a Palestinian state.
“Look, I am not going to offer a direct response to the prime minister, but our position on the two-state solution is well known; it is as well known as it is clear,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on November 9. “We believe that a two-state solution is the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace alongside a viable, democratic Palestinian state.”
Foreign Aid
Price added that the U.S. government is supporting efforts to build up Palestinian governance by providing $400 million in aid. That includes:
- $85 million in economic and development assistance,
- $40 million in security sector assistance,
- more than $20 million in food aid, in COVID-related humanitarian assistance, and
- $318 million to UNRWA.
Price added that even though “negotiations towards a two-state solution aren’t on the table at the moment,” the focus is on building up a higher standard of living to “keep the possibility of a negotiated two-state solution alive.”
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Norway’s Diplomacy And A UN Resolution
Meanwhile, Norway’s Anniken Huitfeldt announced she is also proposing a resolution at the United Nations to protect human rights advocates. It is not clear if that announcement is related to the talks for Palestine. But Israel recently strengthened its fight against Palestinian human rights advocates, labeling many of them as “terrorists.”
Finally, Huitfeldt added that the talks are crucial to reducing the risk of violence. “The parties are seeking to revitalize their cooperation, particularly cooperation relating to the economy and trade. This is crucial in order to strengthen the Palestinian economy, meet basic needs, especially in Gaza, and reduce the risk of further escalations of violence,” she said.
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