Israel, Palestine, America and Humpty Dumpty

If the Israel-Palestine mess sounds familiar to you, it’s because it’s a lot like the debacle in the American Congress, with each side accusing the other of causing all the problems.

For Palestine, there cannot be peace negotiations because the Israeli government won’t stop colonizing the West Bank.

For Israel, there cannot be peace negotiations because Palestine won’t stop cozying up to Hamas or hurling missiles and sending suicide bombers into Israel.

For “colonizing” read “too much spending,” the charge the GOP loves to level at the Democrats in Congress.

For “Hamas and missiles,” read “you’re heartless to want to cut social programs,” the Democrat’s best loved thrust-and-parry at the GOP.

The truth is - Israel and Palestine and the Democrats and the GOP are all correct. As far as it goes.

The problem is that it is not as far as it goes.  

Israel cannot in all honesty expect to hold one-third of the West Bank in the hands of its colonists, even while it is aiming for more colonization, and ask Palestine to negotiate as if the area were empty. What would Palestine do with all the Israeli colonists after they controlled the West Bank, as they surely will if there ever is a peace agreement.

Palestine cannot in all honesty expect Israel is agree to a peace agreement knowing that Palestine has formed a pact with the terrorist group that controls Gaza, Hamas, which has thousands of missiles and the declared intention of using them against Israel.

So, instead of putting all the problems on the table and beginning a serious joint effort to find answers, the Israelis and Palestinians find it easier to shout meaningless slogans at each other.

You know the script - “no budget with tax increases,” and “no budget if social programs are touched.” So, no budget, no White House intervention that would ruffle the feathers of the Democratic contingent in Congress, and no congressional effort, either Democratic or Republican, to put the real issues on the table and sit down to resolve them.

Stalemate.

My fear is that in the Israel-Palestine conflict, as in the US budget mess, nothing will happen. The slippery slope to war or financial chaos will get steeper and more slippery. The temptation to pretend that the consequences of inaction are unimportant will increase as the problems become older and more difficult. And, finally, Israelis and Palestinians, Democrats and Republicans (read that, Americans) will lose big time.

Because one day it will be too late.

Humpty Dumpty will not be able to be put back together again.