August 15, 2024
A new round of
ceasefire talks is set to resume today in Doha, Qatar, in a last-ditch attempt
by the U.S. to reach a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and
Israel. The new round of talks came after the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar issued a
joint statement last week calling to renew negotiations.
The stakes
couldn’t be higher. The calls for renewing ceasefire talks came amid threats by
Iran and Hezbollah to respond to Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah’s top
commander in Beirut and Hamas’s politburo chief in Tehran in late July.
On Thursday,
U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut as part of a wide U.S. diplomatic
campaign in the region, aiming to avoid a major escalation. Al Jazeera quoted
an unnamed Lebanese official as saying that Hochstein expressed a U.S.
conviction that a ceasefire in Gaza could defuse tensions between Israel and
Lebanon.
For his part,
Netanyahu has been accused of evading and even sabotaging the chances of a
deal. The New York Times revealed that the Israeli Prime Minister had been
maneuvering to make a deal impossible over the past months.
On Tuesday,
Israel’s war minister Yoav Gallant said in leaked remarks that Israel, under
Netanyahu’s leadership, was the party placing obstacles to reaching a deal.
Earlier in August, Israeli media reported that Israeli negotiators had returned
from Egypt after having serious differences with Netanyahu over the negotiating
authority he gave them.
According to
reports, Netanyahu has added new conditions to the talks, including the
permanence of Israeli troops in the Philadelphi corridor along Egypt’s border,
vetting displaced Palestinians before their return to their homes in the
northern strip, and allowing Israel to veto the release of high-ranking
Palestinian prisoner leaders and deporting the ones released.
Hamas, for its
part, declared in a statement last week that it was not interested in new
negotiations, but rather demanded mediators to discuss an implementation plan
for the deal proposed by U.S. President Biden in late May, which Hamas accepted
in early July.
On Wednesday,
the Palestinian “Shehab” news agency quoted the member of Hamas’s politburo,
Kamal Abu Aoun, saying that his group would not attend the ceasefire talks in
Doha or later in Cairo. However, Hamas never attends the negotiation sessions
directly but rather gives its responses to mediators following talks. Last
Friday, the White House spokesperson John Kirby said that Qatar had reassured
the U.S. that Hamas will be represented at the talks.
In the
meanwhile, the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported on Wednesday that the U.S.
will present a new proposal to the negotiating table on Thursday, although it
would not differ much from the previous proposal. Israel’s Channel 12 reported
that the U.S. has intensified its pressure on Netanyahu since Wednesday to
widen the powers of the negotiating team. On Wednesday, Israeli media reported
that Netanyahu decided to send the negotiating team to Doha on Thursday in its
full formation, after widening its authority to negotiate.
As the talks
resume in Doha, interests appear to coincide for ending the war and achieving a
deal. The families of Israeli captives in Gaza protested in front of the
headquarters of Netanyahu’s Likud party headquarters, demanding that Israeli
negotiators not return without a deal. However, Thursday’s meeting is meant to
be the beginning of a new round of talks, not the conclusion of a deal, as a
U.S. official told Axios earlier this week.
Nicolas
Sawaya
When
Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over Pennsylvania Governor
Josh Shapiro as her Vice-Presidential running mate, many viewed it as a win for
pro-Palestine constituents of the Democratic party. Shapiro’s long history of
pro-Israel positions and questionable ties to Israel, as well as his publicly
inflammatory statements against Palestinians and their supporters, appeared to
be key reasons Harris passed him over. But can Tim Walz be viewed as much
better?
A
review of Walz’s career shows that he can be fairly characterized as a reliable
pro-Israel Democrat who has consistently voted for and taken positions in
support of Israel. In fact, it is this very history that has led Israel lobby
groups within the Democratic Party to celebrate Harris’s choice, which should
give us all pause.
Walz
in Congress
While
Walz’s time as Minnesota governor has received much attention since it was
announced he would become Harris’s running mate, it is actually his time in
Congress that might shed the most light on how he will look to influence
foreign policy from the executive branch. The record shows that during his
career as a member of the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2018, Walz
consistently voted in favor of pro-Israeli positions. In these years he
supported every Israeli war on Gaza, rejected the international consensus on
the illegality of settlements in the West Bank, and opposed any unilateral
declaration of a Palestinian state, preferring instead to pay lip service to a
“negotiated peace” while Israel continued colonizing the West Bank unimpeded.
Walz
on Gaza, 2009 – 2014
In
fact, it is Walz’s support for previous assaults on Gaza that are among his
most alarming votes.
On
January 9, 2009, Walz voted Yea on blatantly biased H. Res. 34, which
essentially endorsed the pro-Israeli position on “Operation Cast Lead” (the
Israeli assault on Gaza between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009). H.
Res. 34 called on nations “to condemn Hamas for deliberately embedding its
fighters, leaders, and weapons in private homes, schools, mosques, hospitals,
and otherwise using Palestinian civilians as human shields, while
simultaneously targeting Israeli civilians”. It also sought to “lay blame both
for the breaking of the calm and for subsequent civilian casualties in Gaza
precisely where blame belongs, that is, on Hamas”.
According
to the UN, “a total of 1,419 Palestinians were killed by Israeli Occupation
Forces (IOF) attacks, of whom 1,167 (82%) were civilians; 5,300 people were
injured, and around 5,356 houses were completely or partially destroyed”,
whereas only 3 Israeli civilians were killed. Furthermore, according to the
Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
(A/HRC/12/48), also known as the Goldstone Report, “the Mission found no
evidence that Palestinian combatants mingled with the civilian population with
the intention of shielding themselves from attack” (paragraph 483); “the
Mission is unable to make any determination on the general allegation that
Palestinian armed groups used mosques for military purposes” (paragraph 486);
“the Mission did not find any evidence to support the allegations that hospital
facilities were used by the Gaza authorities or by Palestinian armed groups to
shield military activities” (paragraph 487); “the Mission found no indication
that the civilian population was forced by Hamas or Palestinian armed groups to
remain in areas under attack from the Israeli armed forces” (paragraph 488).
The report did find, however, that Israel used Palestinians as human shields in
up to 4 instances, in contravention of International Humanitarian Law
(paragraph 1090).
The
Goldstone report also found that “some of the actions of the Government of
Israel might justify a competent court finding that crimes against humanity
have been committed” (paragraph 1335) and so perhaps not surprisingly, the U.S.
Congress also went after the Goldstone report itself. H.Res. 867 claims that
the report is “biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy”.
H.Res. 867 further “calls on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose
any endorsement of the Report in multilateral fora, including through leading
opposition to any U.N. General Assembly resolution and through vetoing any U.N.
Security Council resolution that endorses the Report’s contents”. Walz saw it
fit to vote Yea to this resolution on November 3, 2009, again in line with the
position of the Israeli government.
On
November 16, 2012, H. Res. 813 was passed by a vote in the House. Since the
vote was without objection (i.e. it passed via unanimous consent), no record of
individual votes was made, but the implication is that Walz supported the
resolution. H. Res. 813 “expresses unwavering commitment to the security of
Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders and supports its
inherent right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of
terrorism”, and was passed as Israel was assaulting Gaza as part of “Operation
Pillar of Defense” (that took place between November 14 and 21, 2012).
According to the UN, during that operation, “IOF killed 171 Palestinians,
amongst them 102 (60%) civilians, including 35 children and 14 women; 648 others
were wounded, and 286 houses were completely or partially destroyed”. In
contrast, 4 Israeli civilians were killed.
On
July 11, 2014, H. Res. 657 was passed by a vote in the House. Since the vote
was without objection, no record of individual votes was made, but the
implication is that Walz supported the resolution. H. Res. 657 “reaffirms the
support of the House of Representatives for Israel’s right to defend its
citizens and ensure Israel’s survival, and condemns the unprovoked rocket fire
at Israel and calls on Hamas to cease all rocket and other attacks against
Israel”, and was passed as Israel was engaged in the most destructive of all
its wars against Gaza up to that date. As part of “Operation Protective Edge”,
which lasted between July 8 and August 26, and according to UN report S-21/1,
“Israel killed 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians (65%), of whom 299
women and 551 children; 11,231 Palestinians, including 3,540 women and 3,436
children, were also injured, of whom 10% suffered permanent disability as a
result”; in contrast, 6 civilians were killed in Israel. In addition, “18,000
housing units were destroyed in whole or in part; much of the electricity
network and of the water and sanitation infrastructure were incapacitated; and
73 medical facilities and many ambulances were damaged. Many Palestinians were
uprooted from their homes or temporary shelters multiple times; at the height
of the hostilities, the number of internally displaced persons reached 500,000,
or 28 per cent of the population”.1
Walz
on illegal Israeli settlements
In
June 2009, Walz visited Israel and the occupied West Bank on a Middle East
tour, where he met with Benjamin Netanyahu (among other heads of state), and
“told the Israelis he believes the growing number of Jewish settlements in the
West Bank were hampering the prospects for peace”. However, in March 2010, when
tension between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government was
bubbling to the surface over the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem,
Walz chose to attend and speak at the annual AIPAC conference, where he stated
that “Israel is our truest and closest ally in the region, with a commitment to
values of personal freedoms and liberties, surrounded by a pretty tough
neighborhood.”
Furthermore,
his 2009 statement on settlements is at odds with his voting record on the
issue. Indeed, Walz voted Yea to H.Res. 11 on January 5, 2017, which opposes
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 that passed on December 23,
2006 by a vote of 14-0-1 (with the United States abstaining), and that
describes the UN resolution as “an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace”. UNSC
2334 reaffirmed “that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the
Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no
legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and
a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just,
lasting and comprehensive peace”. However, it uses weaker language on Israeli
settlements than prior UNSC resolutions, and could potentially allow Israel to
retain already existing settlements beyond the 1967 lines “through
negotiations”. Still, this was one of the rare instances where the Obama
administration deviated from Israeli policy by not vetoing the resolution, and
Walz still saw it fit to oppose his own Democratic administration on this
issue.
Walz
as Governor
This
brings us to the current day, where in his role as Minnesota governor, Walz has
paid some lip service to Palestinian concerns, but maintained his staunch
support for Israel and opposed legislative action to hold it accountable, even
during a genocide.
Walz
on the Gaza Genocide
Walz
made some encouraging remarks after the Minnesota Democratic primaries in March
of this year about the voters in the Uncommitted movement (19% of Minnesota’s
Democratic electorate), signaling to Democratic leadership that they should not
take their votes for granted in light of the Biden administration’s support for
Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Speaking to CNN, Walz said that they were engaged,
and that “we’re really proud of Minnesota civic responsibility. We have some of
the highest voter turnouts. These are voters that are deeply concerned as we
all are. The situation in Gaza is intolerable”.
The
day after, in an interview, Walz told MPR News Host Cathy Wurzer that he
“certainly calls [s] for a ceasefire in Gaza. It has to be a working ceasefire.
I’ve asked for these humanitarian pauses to get folks out. I want this thing to
end; I don’t want a ceasefire to last for a week or something like that. We
need a permanent solution.”
However,
it is unlikely that these words of sympathy will actually translate to tangible
actions that put pressure on the Netanyahu government to end their genocide in
Gaza. Indeed, Walz hasn’t called for an arms embargo or sanctions on Israel
(and Harris’ national security advisor Phil Gordon recently clarified that
Harris “does not support an arms embargo”), or taken any other meaningful
policy positions that would potentially result in an end to Israel’s mass
slaughter.
In
November of last year as the Gaza genocide was unfolding, he faced protests by
pro-Palestinian activists who urged the Walz administration to “stop investing
state employee retirement funds in the Israeli government and defense
contractors who supply arms to that nation”. In February of this year,
protesters called “on the state to cut financial ties with Israel, ahead of
Thursday’s State Board of Investment meeting, where dozens of Minnesotans spoke
in favor of divestment from accounts that benefit Israel”. According to Walz’s
office, $116 million is invested in support of Israel, although per
pro-Palestinian activists, “investments total over $3 billion, including
indirect investments and entities that profit from Israel, such as weapons
manufacturing companies Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman”. There is
precedent for the State Board of Investors to divest from companies and funds
that support violations of International Law “as the board moved on its own to
divest from South Africa in the 1980s in response to apartheid”.
Furthermore,
Walz signed legislation directing the board to divest from Russia as punishment
for the invasion of Ukraine, although state legislation prevents Minnesota from
engaging in “discrimination against Israel” per the state’s (likely
unconstitutional) anti-BDS law. Still, as of today, Walz has given no
indication that he intends to support divestment of companies or funds that
directly or indirectly support Israel’s violation of human rights in Gaza and
the West Bank, and recently canceled a meeting with Minnesota activists that
took 10 months to schedule after they “explained that they weren’t just going
to share their stories, but also press for policy changes”. According to a
staff person for Walz, the governor was “not prepared to talk about divestment”.
Walz
on a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli “conflict”
In
early March of this year, in an interview with CNN, Walz said that he supports
a “lasting two-state solution”, although he didn’t provide any details as to
what that entailed. His voting record suggests the typical support for a
“negotiated peace”, where Israel holds all the cards, and opposition to a
unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood. Indeed, on July 7, 2011, Walz
voted Yea to H.Res. 268, which “opposes any attempt to establish or seek
recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between
Israel and the Palestinians”. It is unclear how a “peace process” that has been
ongoing for over 30 years and that has led to the immiseration of the
Palestinian people will bring about a viable Palestinian state, especially in
light of the recent decision by the Israeli Knesset to reject Palestinian
statehood in a vote of 68 in favor and just 9 against.
Coupled
with his previously discussed position on settlements, Walz’s position aligns
with the mainstream of the Democratic party, which pays lip service to a viable
Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state settlement, while exerting
no tangible pressure on Israel to adhere to International Law as it continues
to colonize the West Bank unimpeded.
It’s
no surprise then, that Marc Mellman, President of Democratic Majority for
Israel, praised Walz’s selection and said that he was “a proud pro-Israel
Democrat with a strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship”,
while the pro-Israel lobby J-Street (who had previously endorsed him), said
that “we know the Harris-Walz team will stand up for our shared values, protect
our community, and pursue smart, pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership abroad. We’re
all in.”
Notes
1. UN report S-21/1
was described by Norman Finkelstein in his book Gaza, An Inquest into its
Martyrdom (p.306), as conveying a “wholly misleading, distorted picture of what
happened in Gaza. Whereas it suggested that Protective Edge was a legitimate
military campaign lamentably marred by sundry excesses, in fact the assault was
a terror campaign designed, if not to break, then at any rate to temper Gaza’s
will to resist”.
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