Israel’s been scolded before

Columnist Cal Thomas (Sept. 22) errs in branding Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a “bully” to whom an inexperienced Barack Obama is pandering. Apparently Thomas objects to Obama’s pressuring Israel to agree to a meaningful freeze on settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Obama’s opposition is nothing new. In 1976 U.N. Ambassador William Scranton called settlements illegal. In a 1979 legal opinion, the State Department advised Congress that they were illegal. In 1993, President George H. W. Bush reduced loan guarantees to Israel by the amount spent on settlement construction. George W. Bush’s 2002 Roadmap to Peace called for a settlement freeze.

Despite this opposition, Israel continues to build in its settlements, many of which trespass on private Palestinian land. Today the 60 percent of the West Bank that Israel administers directly is held for the benefit of 300,000 Jewish settlers with little regard for over 2 million Palestinians. Settlements, security areas, bypass roads, checkpoints and barriers have had a disastrous impact on Palestinians’ lives and livelihood. Obama’s pressure on Israel stems from a recognition that Israelis, on their own, lack the political will to reverse the disastrous settlement policy that prevents a just peace between themselves and the Palestinians.

Donald D. Lamp

Spokane