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Palestinians take a dim view of President Obama’s performance in advancing the Middle East peace process over the past year. That’s according to Mustafa Barghouti, a leading Palestinian politician, who speaks with anchor Marco Werman.
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MARCO WERMAN: I’m Marco Werman and this is The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH in Boston. A central plank of Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s foreign policy was to reach out to the Islamic world. The last year in Cairo, President Obama promised to tackle one of the key issues for many Muslims, the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. After that speech Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti said Barack Obama is the last American President who could deal with this problem.
MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI: What makes me say that is the fact that I’m realistic.
WERMAN: Barghouti was the runner up in the 2005 election for President of the Palestinian Authority. He says that what he sees in the region now gives him little cause for optimism.
BARGHOUTI: I see after 18 years of negotiations and, by the way, I was a member of the peace negotiating team in Madrid back then, 18 years ago. I see that evaporation, gradual evaporation of the potential of the civility of a two state solution. That’s what makes me worried and that’s what made me say that President Obama has the last opportunity or chance for making that solution for the sake of people, Palestinians and Israelis and the peoples of the whole region.
WERMAN: So in the time that’s transpired since Mr. Obama’s speech in Cairo, how do you think he’s done in getting further along down the road?
BARGHOUTI: Not well. I think he raised a lot of expectations. His elections raised a lot of expectations and we were so pleased with that big change in the United States, which was promising. His speech added positive, also, expectations because I think he was the first American President in office who spoke about the human face of the Palestinian people, comparing our struggle of that of African Americans against segregation. He promoted the right of Palestinians for non-violent resistance which we adopted. But since then, he promised he would help freeze the settlements and stop them completely in accordance with the roadmap which was, by the way, issued back in 2003. But since then he could not stand up to the Israelis. Unfortunately, when everybody expected he will force Netanyahu to retreat and force him to stop settlement activities. Everybody is so shocked and surprised that it was President Obama that blinked instead of insisting on his correct position.
WERMAN: Are you willing to cut President Obama any slack? He has been significantly busy with health care, Afghanistan and climate change.
BARGHOUTI: We do understand, but we know that an American President does not have to deal with one issue at a time. Foreign policy is one very important issue. Especially that he had, also, himself indicated more than once in his speeches that the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq and many other places is so relevant, that the Palestinian issue is so relevant to these places and if there is one single issue in the Middle East, or in the world, that has such a huge impact on all these countries and on the conflict in all these countries, it is the Palestinian issue. So the question here is will he be able to stand up to Israel and say to Israel for your own sake and for the sake of Palestinians, and for the sake of the last chance for peace – - on two state solution, will you stop trying to be impunitive and above international law. Will you be accountable like other countries are in this world?
WERMAN: Do you think if the Palestinians had not insisted that stopping Israeli settlements be an absolute precondition for talks that things might have moved further down the road in the last 12 months?
BARGHOUTI: No. My worry is that if you force Palestinians, and this could happen, if somebody forces the Palestinian Authority to sit down behind the table of negotiations without complete freezing of settlements, you will face very soon another crisis.
WERMAN: What kind of pressure do you think the White House, could then, have brought to bear on Israel after Prime Minister Netanyahu ignored Mr. Obama’s ultimatum on settlements? What could the White House have done?
BARGHOUTI: It’s very simple. If there is a country that has a leverage over Israel more than anybody else it is the United States. The least he could say is to say to Israel that our aid and support to you will be linked to your position about freezing settlements. That has been done by President Bush, I mean Bush the father before, and it was the only way to force Shamir to go to Madrid peace talks. We know that very well and it has happened before. So if there was serious intention to do that, this could have been done.
WERMAN: Mustafa Barghouti thank you very much for your time.
BARGHOUTI: Thank you sir.
WERMAN: Mustafa Barghouti is an independent Palestinian politician and an advocate of non-violence.
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