Obama to Recognize Palestinian Statehood?

by Stephen Lendman

It's hard remembering how many times Obama pledged full support for Israel - at the same time spurning Palestinian rights. He's done nothing to help them throughout his tenure.

He partnered with Netanyahu's genocidal Gaza war last summer. He supported mass slaughtering noncombatant men, women and children.

He's waging multiple regional direct and proxy wars. He doesn't give a damn about Arab lives and welfare.

At the same time, when asked last March if he'd back Palestinian statehood, he said he wouldn't rule it out.

"We're going to do that evaluation," he added. "We're going to partly wait for an actual Israeli government to form."

So-called reassessment has nothing to do with compromising strong US/Israeli relations. Washington is fully committed to its security.

Investigative journalist Wayne Madsen believes Washington may no longer veto Security Council resolutions condemning Israeli settlement construction.

It may abstain if Palestinian statehood comes up for a vote, he said. "(W)e could see Palestine as a full member of the United Nations within a year or so," he added.

On May 6, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined "Obama to back Palestinian state at Security Council - payback for Israel's right-wing cabinet," saying:

He won't wait for Netanyahu to "finish building his new government coalition…" Earlier he "withheld green light (support for) European governments to file a UN Security Council motion proclaiming an independent Palestinian state."

With US support (or withholding opposition), a Security Council resolution could pass unanimously. It'll be binding on Israel, whether or not it recognizes Palestinian statehood.

Last week, US and French counterparts began "sketch(ing) out the general outline of" a Security Council resolution, DF claimed.

The devil is in the details. Recognizing Palestinian statehood within anything less than pre-June 1967 borders is no state at all.

Israel controls about 60% of the West Bank and large parts of East Jerusalem. Palestinian communities are separated by a vast/oppressive matrix of control - isolating them from each other.

Gaza's siege remains in place. Recognizing rump cantonized statehood is meaningless.

States are comprised of contiguous territory within fixed borders - not areas isolated from each other amounting to statehood in name only.

DF said Obama prefers "giv(ing) Netanyahu a lengthy though predetermined time scale to reconsider his Palestinian policy or even possibly to broaden and diversify his coalition by introducing non-aligned factions or figures into such key posts as foreign affairs."

In other words, perhaps he'll let Netanyahu appear ready to discuss peace and Palestinian statehood while maintaining hardline opposition.

Maybe DF's announced Obama "turnaround on the Israeli-Palestinian issue" is none at all - lip service only masking business as usual.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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