TRAMPLING the world conscience with its by-now familiar impunity and contempt, Israel is continuing with its offensive and peremptory campaign to build more Jewish settlements in West bank and other occupied territories. Even as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is confabulating in the region to push the dormant peace process forward, Israel's Peace Now has announced that the defense ministry has approved plans to build 946 homes in the West Bank since last November's peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland. In East Jerusalem, Peace Now said, the government has given final approval for at least 750 homes since the peace talks were renewed. Even though, the international community does not recognize the annexation of all Palestinian land and regards all Israeli settlements as illegal, the Jewish state has time and again dismissed with contempt and poured scorn on any effort to curb its expansionist policies. The United States seldom voices concern over the atrocities Israelis commit on the Palestinians and not even a faint murmur of disapproval against expansionist policies is heard. But in a rare rebuke delivered to its staunchest ally in the Mideast, the Bush administration had castigated Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government's move to build more settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank on more than one occasion. This rare rebuke has failed to convince Israel of the dangers these settlements pose to the fledgling peace process. But then Israel has never heeded saner voices calling for a negotiated settlement of the crisis plaguing the region for over five decades now. Instead it has taken countless steps to squeeze the Palestinians hard making their lives miserable and puncturing any hopes of peace and normality returning to the region. Palestinians, as does the whole world, obviously view Israel's policies detrimental to the peace process and once have rightly suspended peace negotiations with Israel on the issue. In his meeting with Rice, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rightly pointed out that the settlements “pose the most dangerous obstacle to peace.” Abbas also took umbrage at Olmert's reported statement that he does not envisage the possibility of anything more than an outline agreement with the Palestinians by 2009 and plans continued settlement expansion. Nevertheless, Rice was able to extract an assurance from Israel that it would remove 50 of the army roadblocks in the West Bank. Even though it represents a small fraction of the total number of roadblocks and checkpoints in the territory, the promise would considerably ease movement restrictions and would expand the work of Palestinian security forces. It remains to be seen whether Israel honors its commitments or reneges on them to bring more misery to the hapless Palestinians. __
