Time is running out for peace between Israelis, Palestinians

It didn’t take long for the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians to return to its violent roots after the two sides and their allies clashed verbally at the United Nations over the Palestinian Authority’s application for statehood.

A confrontation with Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra resulted in Palestinians throwing stones at the Israeli military. A Palestinian was fatally shot by the soldiers.

And the violence will only get worse as the clock ticks to an actual vote in the U.N. Security Council for admission of a Palestinian state, or for a General Assembly vote to change the PA’s status from “entity” to “non-member state.” That’s the designation given to the Holy See, the Roman Catholic state based in the Vatican.

Both the Israelis and the Palestinians have a great deal to lose with what has been unleashed in the world organization in New York City with President Mahmoud Abbas’ formal request Friday for statehood.

As of last week, the Palestinians were one vote short of the nine needed in the Security Council for admission. There are a total of 15 members. But even if they got the nine votes, the United States, one of the five permanent members, along with China, France, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom, has said it will veto the resolution.

The reaction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip can be predicted with certainty. The violence will be deadly.

If, on the other hand, the General Assembly acts on behalf of the Palestinians, the reaction from Israel and its allies, especially the U.S. Congress, will be immediate. Members of Congress have warned that they will push to cut off funding for the Palestinians.

The conflict that has been raging for decades is entering a new and dangerous period.

In response to speeches by Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.N. General Assembly, Americans for Peace Now said “real leadership” is necessary to get the two sides past their grievances and recriminations.

“The unfortunate choice of the United Nations as a venue for laying out historical narratives makes the point that regardless of what may happen in the Security Council or the General Assembly, it is at the negotiating table where the parties will have reached their historic compromises.”

International community

Americans for Peace Now added that the two sides “will need the resolute engagement of the international community if they are to finally make the painful compromises that have been so long in coming.”

While Abbas’ move at the U.N. has been harshly criticized by Israel and its allies, especially the United States, and hailed by Arab states and other nations that have long supported the creation of a Palestinian state, the move could be viewed as an important moment in time.

Peace has eluded that region of the world for more than 60 years; negotiations last year that initially held out such promise collapsed.

It’s time for the two sides to return to the peace talks — under the auspices of the U.S., the European Union, Russia and the United Nations that have been working to find a solution to the conflict.