To Unfreeze or Not to Unfreeze?

Today, President Barack Obama repeated his call on Israel to extend its partial, nine-month moratorium on its illegal settlement building in the West Bank.

Obama used his address at the UN General Assembly in New York to stress the importance of settlement freeze for the on-going talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders:

Israel’s settlements moratorium has made a difference on the ground, and improved the atmosphere for talks. Our position on this issue is well known: we believe that the moratorium should be extended.

Though this was echoed by the Quartet's diplomats, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas indicated to a meeting of American Jewish leaders that an end to settlement freeze wouldn’t necessarily bring to an end the talks, according to a Jerusalem Post report. If this report is accurate, it would be a departure from his prior position, which effectively conditioned progress in the talks on a continued moratorium.

A labourer walks through a construction site in the West Bank settlement of Elazar. Photograph: Baz Ratner/Reuters

It would move the Palestinians closer to the Israeli position. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon suggested that his government disagreed with the view that ending the settlement construction freeze threatened the talks.

"Settlements have never been an issue, because once we agree on borders everything will be obvious. So let's concentrate on the real issues and not just put the obstacle in the settlements," he said to reporters at the UN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the idea of extending the freeze, though he suggested construction would be limited to the major settlement blocs.

Earlier in the day, Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the next 10 days would be "decisive and determine the fate of the direct negotiations".

"There is a very large international effort made to overcome the obstacles in the way of direct negotiations. In particular, the obstacle of the settlements."

If the Jerusalem Post report is accurate and the PA has shifted course in this demand, it would be a tremendous break from Palestinian public opinion. In one recent poll, 82% of Palestinians "rejected" direct talks while Israel continues to build up the settlements. Only 15% supported it.

Though American and international observers laud the freeze as an important step, it should be noted that it was always partial, as Peace Now noted: "work continued on 600 housing units, of which 492 were in violation of the moratorium. Work has continued on some 2,000 homes, in many cases because builders rushed to start projects before the freeze took effect."

As cynical as Palestinians are about the freeze, a change in the Palestinian stance would be a politically untenable position, especially in light of the land grab and vast expansion of Israel's colonial project during the Oslo period.

Despite Ayalon's dismissal of the issue, settlement construction is seen by Palestinians as Israel's purposeful changing of the facts on the ground. This changes the negotiating positions of the parties and directly impacts the discussion of borders, as much as Israelis claim to be willing to abandon settlements.

As the settlement freeze deadline nears and the question of an extension continues at the fore, the Palestine Center is hosting and event on Tuesday on this precise subject. The event, "The Settlement Freeze and the Peace Process Freeze," will feature Michelle Dunne, Senior Associate, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the editor of the Arab Reform Bulletin. Joining her will be Daniel Levy, the Senior Research Fellow, American Strategy Program.

If you can attend the event, make sure to RSVP. If you cannot, you can watch it webcast live.

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