Israel risks losing support from US, Europe
The continued settlement policy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might drive the United States to reduce its diplomatic support of Israel, thus damaging its strategic security interests and ability to respond to security threats.
We are today at a historic low point in the strategic relationship between the United States and Israel. This strategic relationship has not been shaken this much since President John F. Kennedy’s letters to Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in the early 1960s questioning Israel’s nuclear program. What the nuclear plant in the town of Dimona did then, the East Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Silwan and housing for settlers have done now.
A senior State Department source told Al-Monitor that the US administration is considering a policy change toward Israel. On one side, the security cooperation will only be enhanced, but on the diplomatic side, Washington is seriously contemplating not vetoing UN Security Council resolutions on the settlements. Simultaneously, Washington might not restrain EU members from taking punitive measures regarding settlements, such as enhancing the boycott on Israeli businesses active beyond the Green Line.
The administration is convinced that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not a partner to the peace process and not a credible partner for US-Israel relations. His fingerprints in favor of conservative Republicans have been clearly visible these last few years.
This shift in policy may have serious repercussions for Israel. Israel’s status within the Middle East, as well as in Europe, stems greatly from the international perception of the strong Washington-Jerusalem alliance. It is by no coincidence that the Swedish formal recognition of the State of Palestine on Oct. 30 came just two days after Jeffrey Goldberg's publication of a quote virulently criticizing Netanyahu. Spain may be next in line and the European Union, so I'm told by European diplomats in Brussels, is planning yet more strong denunciations of settlements. According to these diplomatic sources, the EU is examining its legal agreements with Israel to ensure that no settlement will profit from them.
