Reflection

Studying the Middle East over the last 13 weeks has been one of the most intensive units I have studied and we have barely skimmed the surface. Is it difficult to comprehend the complexity of the region, with conflicting religions, sects, ethnic group and external influences. I believe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most intractable of our time and cannot see any positive changes in the near future. However on the other hand I can see how quickly a situation can change. One week I blogged about the possibility of a three state solution on the basis of an unlikely reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, however just two weeks later they reconciled their 7 year conflict.

Another example of how situations can change is the Arab Spring of 2011 which was sparked by a single mans actions in Tunisia. No one could have predicted this was cause such an impact across the region.

As a social justice student I have been moved by the human rights abuses in the region and disgusted at the actions and lack of actions by the West. In the future I hope to see Australia taking ownership of its foreign policy and not just following the US. In particular I hope to see a move toward prioritising human rights over economic goals. This unit has sparked an interest for me and I will continue to explore issues in Middle East, particularly the Israeli-Palestine conflict and the Syrian refugee crisis.

Three State Solution

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This article  discusses the benefits of a three state solution to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike other "three state solutions" Malcolm Lowe proposes the independence of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, whereas other solutions of the same name propose Egypt and Jordan be given control over the regions. Lowe points out that amidst the peace talks for a two state solution the regions have already split into three distinct states; Israel, Gaza under Hamas and the West Bank under Fatah. Since there is no strong alliance between Gaza and the West Bank it would be easier to split the two regions. By doing this it would appease Israel by eliminating the threat of a larger Palestine. He also states that the geographical locations of a two-region state would be too difficult to maintain.

Despite some valid arguments of a three state solution the article is flawed. Lowe solves the question of Gaza being able to support itself by citing that it has an Olympic sized swimming pool and upmarket shopping mall, so of course it's economy is equipped to support the whole region. He also goes as far to say that the economy would grow ever more if could overcome it's "bad habit of shooting missiles at Israel."
Lowe also says that the separation of the two regions would eliminate the threat of Palestinian terrorism, as if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be ended by only addressing Palestinian violence. There is no mention of how Israeli settlements in the regions could be addressed.

The validity of the argument is over shadowed by bias against Palesine. However it would be interesting to see this version of a three state solution to be developed and proposed in the next peace talks.

Israel Supreme Court decision only symbolic

Aftermath of Operation Cast Lead

This article examines the recent announcement that Israel Supreme Court will hear evidence of war crimes of military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. These attacks killed at least 1,400 Palestinians in Operation Cast Lead over three weeks, only 400 of these killed were proved to be fighters. Despite the injustices, Israel only investigated low- level officials. The longest sentence of 7 months was handed to a soldier who stole a credit card in the operation.
At first I was optimistic to hear Israel was willing to listen to evidence of war crime against some high profiles such as Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. However when you explore the willingness of Israel and the international community to actually persecute those involved. Previously Israel has cited "lawfare" as a motive in order to reject accusations, lawfare refers to the abuse of Western laws to achieve a political goal.
Israel with the assistance of the United States has also been able to manipulate laws and political conditions in order to resist persecution of it's war crimes. If Palestine join the International Criminal Court they can request them to investigate the building of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. However the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, facilitated by the US,  are being used to manipulate Palestine into not joining the ICC.
In addition universal jurisdiction laws stand in the way of Israel being able to escape persecution of war crimes. However they have also been able to manipulate these in Britain for example. This means that an Israeli official cannot be arrested if the state prosecution service decides it is their best political interest for them not to, overriding court decisions.
Overall, the decision of Israel to hear evidence of war crimes committed by high level officials, including the Former PM, is nothing more than symbolic. The ability of Israel to manipulate the US, Britain and Palestine means that it is unlikely these officials would ever be arrested.