Reports in the Israeli and Palestinian media continue to fly about the putative resignation of chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat, following repeated complaints about Israel’s settlement expansion.
That’s a big deal, except Erekat himself insists it never happened, and says he is still planning to go to next week’s meetings with Israeli officials and Secretary of State John Kerry.
The PA is facing growing domestic criticism about the lack of progress, and particularly their inability to keep Israel sticking to its pledges to limit settlement construction during the talks.
Israeli officials insist the whole thing amounts to Erekat “putting on a show” ahead of Kerry’s visit, though the US appears just as incapable of doing anything about the settlements as the PA does.
"though the US appears just as incapable of doing anything about the settlements"
According to Norman Finkelstein, all the US would have to do would be threaten to cut off some or all of its almost 4 billion dollars a year that goes to Israel, and the settlement building would end.
The US not only doesn't do this, but continues, three times so far under Obama, to use its anti-democratic military power at the UN to protect Israel from having international law applied to it regarding its settlements and occupations.
The best thing for Erekat to do is to resign, he negotiated Oslo Accords with Israel, the Madrid Conference and the Camp David meetings, and what were the outcome?….Zero, Israel continue to steal their land.