Last week Barack Obama made his first trip to Israel as President. While many supported his visit, one cannot help but question whether this was the best move for the United States.
On Obama’s first day in Israel, Palestinian activists put up tents outside Jerusalem in the West Bank to protest his visit. Additionally, protestors in Gaza burned Israeli and American flags and pictures of Obama himself.
Throughout the week, Obama assured the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that the United States is committed in protecting Israel. At his welcoming ceremony Obama said, “The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.” Obama and the Prime Minister have shared their disputes in past, but during Obama’s stay the two seemed to have put aside their differences.
In the 2012 election, Republicans claimed that President Obama was not devoted in protecting America’s long term ally Israel. Netanyahu openly supported Republican challenger Mitt Romney, but now it appears that Obama and him are on more amicable terms.
During his trip, Obama set time aside to meet separately with President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the Palestinian dispute, Iran’s nuclear threats, and the Syrian crisis. During his stay he also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to assure him that an independent Palestinian state “remains a U.S. foreign policy and national security priority.” However, if Obama really wants to attain that, he might have to compromise his relationship with Nethanyahu. While Obama called for statehood, Netanyahu calls for a “meaningful compromise”, and said nothing about a sovereign state for Palestine.
True, the United States and Israel are longtime allies, but Israel’s handling of the Gaza Strip and unwillingness to grant Palestinians autonomy is problematic. Obviously Palestine is not perfect in the situation, but if this brutality and oppression endures then they will continue to demonstrate as aggressively as they have. This conflict is incessant, and if diplomacy cannot be reached, death tolls will continue to rise and combat will inevitably continue.