Rice: Settlements will not delay negotiations

Taking a common US position toward any and all violations of Palestinian rights by the Jewish entity, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated today that while Settlement building by "Israel" is not helpful to the "peace process," it will not delay negotiations on a final settlement. Throughout this entire so-called "Peace Process" Israel has continued to expand its territory by swallowing up more Palestinian land and building Jewish settlements, with the obvious aim of making demographic changes that would put new realities on the ground and thereby adjust the "settlement" on a so-called "final solution." The Jewish state has repeatedly demonstrated nothing but contempt for the rights of all those living around it and has engaged in clear expansionist behavior without having to face any consequences, as the US continually defends and supports its destructive actions.

The position communicated by Condoleeza Rice is essentially that "Israel" can continue with its policies of expropriating Palestinian land and expanding its territory and the Palestinians just have to deal with it. This is the type of mediation that the US provides in these so called "peace" negotiations; namely that our people are obligated to accept the cancerous entity and its criminal behavior as a "reality" and a "fait accompli," while we must continue to ensure that "Israel" is guaranteed permanent hegemony and dominance over the region. When negotiations are being carried out over a land dispute, what's the point of negotiating when "Israel" is continually changing realities on the ground? How can we expect to negotiate with a state that is consistently attempting to change the conditions of those negotiations?

"Israel" has proven time and again that it is not interested in a "peace" settlement. Rather it is interested in surrender and complete submission to its demands. And this is exactly what the US is helping it achieve. While "Israel" is allowed to repeatedly murder Palestinian civilians and strangulate them so that they suffer a slow death, every act of resistance against this genocidal behavior is condemned and denounced by the US and the so-called "international community." No one raised a voice when a family of seven was brutally and mercilessly butchered by "Israeli" gunships on a beach in Gaza, but the entire "civilized" world continues to raise hell over the fact that one (ONE!) "Israeli" soldier was captured by the Palestinian resistance.

Antoun Saadeh once stated that "strength is the determining factor in the affirmation or denial of national rights." It is only with our strength that we can protect and secure our rights; anything else is hopeless and useless. The "civilized" nations of the world will not defend us against the violations of our rights; they in fact pressure us to just accept those violations. If we do not begin building and developing our nation now, the future is going to look even more grim. If we do not rely on ourselves and strengthen our nation in the face of all external threats, we should not expect to retrieve any of our land or our national rights.