If the reports published recently that U.S. envoy to the region George Mitchell did not bring with him American guarantees for the benefit of the Palestinians prove to be true, and that he told his French prolocutors that the U.S. could not provide guarantees that would be unacceptable to Israel - if these reports are confirmed, then nothing has changed during the weeks and months that passed since the last visit of the U.S. envoy.

The only change is that Israel has accelerated the rate of settlement expansion, especially in Jerusalem.

Israel also revealed more of its plans for the Judaization of the Holy City, while the settlement activities relentlessly continue all over the West Bank under various pretexts, despite the misleading position it declared to a restricted freeze of settlement construction.

This development coincides with rumors leaked that the EU intends to cut its financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority this year, unless progress in the peace efforts is achieved. This only indicates that American-European pressures are put on the Palestinians to force them into accepting a revival of the peace negotiations under Israeli conditions and dictates.

It also means peace process is being kept hostage by the Israelis, and that Europe and the U.S. virtually ignore all Israeli practices and obstacles laid by Israel in the path of peace.

There is an obvious and tangible retreat in the American position, ever since President Barak Obama announced his demand that Israel stop settlement activities, and then retracted that demand. He then put pressure on the Palestinian side to resume the talks with an Israeli government that publicly declares its rejection of the basic principles of the peace process, and effectively carries out practices on the ground which serve to undermine the international efforts to implement the Road Map peace plan.

Finally there is that European-American passive attitude toward the blunt Israeli arrogance. Such retreat constitutes a return of the U.S. policies back to the rotating mechanisms of the Bush administration, which not only miserably failed, but also contributed to encouraging Israel to maintain its policies of occupation and settlement activities.

Consequently, we repeatedly say that any criterion for the success or failure of the American role in pushing forward the peace process, is the readiness of the American administration to cooperate with the international community in a unified and effective effort, to pressure Israel into removing the obstacles it has laid in the way to peace. Most important is freezing the settlements, putting an end to its policies aiming at Judaization of Jerusalem, ethnic cleansing and lifting the blockade off Gaza.

As long as those effort fail, and as long as America and Europe tolerate Israel’s practices and rejectionist stances, Israel will be more encouraged to intensify its settlement activities that threaten not only the peace process, but the Palestinian existence itself. 　

Everybody realizes that achieving peace does not need flashing cameras or absurd negotiations. Rather it requires an international political will to implement the international resolutions related to the Palestinian issue, putting an end to occupation and empowering the Palestinians to establish their independent state on their national soil.

Should the peace efforts and the basic principles that govern the negotiations remain hostage to consent by the Israeli occupation, it only means that Israel and its supporters will continue to negotiate with themselves. They would never find a Palestinian partner to accept endless negotiations, accompanied with an Israeli process of settlement expansion and occupation.

Regrettably, this logic uncovers once again the Western dualism with regard to the concept of international legitimacy, and the extent of Western bias in favor of an illegitimate occupation, bestowing upon it the right of vetoing the peace efforts - while, at the same time, building up all Western forces to confront another illegitimate occupation.