On Israel and Palestine at the beginning of 2015

Culled Photo: Mahmoud Abbas signs around 20 international treaties. 

Mahmoud Abbas's decision with the support of the rest of the Palestinian leadership, to sign up to join the International Criminal Court in the wake of the rejection of a U.N Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017, is put in perspective.

The American State Department has issued a statement describing the decision of the Palestinians to join the ICC as counterproductive to achieving the Palestinians stated goal of a two- state solution and peaceful co-existence with Israel. It followed on by exhorting all sides to "work constructively and cooperatively to lower tensions, reject violence and find a path forward".

This statement from the American State Department cannot disguise the fact that the United States has been powerless to serve as a catalyst for mutual understanding and trust between both parties.

The threat by the United States Congress to impose sanctions on the Palestinians for signing up to join the ICC is hardly the answer, as it merely re-enforces the position of any Israeli who  is not actively seeking a peaceful and just co-existence with his/her Palestinian neighbor. It merely entrenches the position of any Palestinian who embraces nihilism as a means of staking his/her claim to self determination.