Dishonest Broker: The Role of the United States in Palestine and Israel

This latest work by Naseer Aruri focuses on the failed Middle East "peace process." Aruri analyzes the evolving relationship between the United States and the two protagonists—the Palestinians and Israel—and argues that the U.S. rejectionist policy toward Palestinian participation and Palestinian rights has become a policy that focuses more on the process and than on peace. Aruri argues that the special relationship between the United States and Israel turned into a strategic alliance after the war in 1967—ruling out a role of honest brokering for the United States—all other would-be peacemakers and facilitators were held at bay. The U.S. diplomatic -monopoly continues to serve as the single most effective means to accomplish Israel’s goals. It sustains Israel, protecting it from international scrutiny, and engineers the gridlock that allows the Israeli government to negotiate indefinitely. Bolstered by September 11, U.S. policy at present, is Israel’ fix the blame on the Palestinian partner, declare Arafat unfit to rule, and demand his removal. Aruri demonstrates how American diplomacy has come to a grinding halt, providing a cover for Ariel Sharon’s Israel to crush the Palestinians. Naseer Aruri is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, and the former co-chair of Amnesty International. He lectures widely on the politics and history of the Middle East.