2009-10-11

Obama has yet to earn it


by Adam Keller


President Obama does not yet deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. That he was himself the first to say so does not make it less true.

On the Israeli-Palestinian track President Obama has on several occasions declared his consideration of the ending of the occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state as an American and world interest - goals to be achieved during his term. The year 2011 was mentioned as target date for the Palestinian state to materialize.

It is probably also clear to Obama that, to achieve it, more is needed than restrain a bit the settlement expansion. And not even a complete freeze would do the job. In order to bring about the State of Palestine quite a lot of dismantling settlements will have to be done as well. Settlements are the major stumble block for negotiations about other issues to even get started. If Obama rises to really implement his declared intentions and sees through that the free and sovereign state of Palestine signs peace with a free and sovereign state of Israel, and the beginning of good neighbourly relations between them, then he would have fully earned the Nobel Prize.

Contact: Adam Keller, 054-2340749 adam@gush-shalom.org

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