President Barack Obama Visits Middle East Amid Israeli-Palestine Problems

For the first time in his Presidency, U.S. President Barack Obama visits Middle East. He will be going to Israel and discuss the current efforts for peace in the Palestine with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. Besides the Israeli settlements, Pres. Obama will also be discussing Iran’s nuclear program, the Syrian conflict, as well as Egypt’s political problems.

Israeli Settlements in West Bank and Gaza

Israel has been building settlements in disputed East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This has led to more tension between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over the disputed land. The Palestinians are also divided between the Fatah and Hamas. Fatah is the dominant party in the West Bank and Hamas is the dominant party in Gaza. The term of the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was only up to 2009. The Egyptians have been pushing for elections but these have not been scheduled. Currently, the Palestinians would not be able to present anything concrete to the table if talks were held at the present time.

Israel had also just concluded elections in January, with Netanyahu winning another term. However, he was only able to create a ruling coalition last Friday, with the pro-settlement Jewish Home party and the political center Yesh Atid. He parted ways with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties who were with him in prior coalition governments.

Obama has been taking criticism for not handling the Israeli problem better, and for not going to the Israel during his first term. The Presidential staff had earlier decided that any visit to Israel would not have any effect on the situation. Analysts have opined that Obama’s visit is to make an appeal for both Israeli and Palestinian sides to come to the table and discuss the problem, thereby preventing any escalation or a conflict to arise.

This visit would most probably placate Netanyahu who has been critical of Obama, even as he was fond of Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential candidate. Netanyahu had once lectured Obama while in front of the media during a 2011 meeting. He had also expressed his doubt of Obama’s commitment to peace in the Middle East.

Iran’s Nuclear Program is Another Concern

Iran’s nuclear power plant program is also on the agenda. Iran had kept repeating that their nuclear program is for peaceful energy use. The West however, believes that the program is to create a nuclear weapon. Israel has increasingly been advocating a military solution to stop the Iran program. The United States has been expressing concern over Iran, but has kept their response on a wait-and-see. During a speech to the United Nations in September, Netanyahu had said that Iran was six months from a nuclear bomb. In a recent statement on an Israeli TV station, Obama mentioned that the U.S. thinks that Iran is more than a year away from the making a nuclear bomb.

Another item that would need discussion would be the political problems Egypt has been having of late. Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt, which has been a stabilizing effect in the region. Egypt has been busy rebuilding after the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.

Photo Credit: US Pres Barack Obama with Israeli PM Netanyahu