Middle East peace process stalls over settlements dispute

In East Jerusalem today, a riot broke out between Israeli settlers and Palestinian residents as settlers forced a Palestinian family from their home. A district court denied the residents' appeal to stay on the property.

For nearly thirty years, both sides have been locked in a legal battle over the ownership of 28 houses in the neighborhood.
Amar Arrori is a human rights researcher who witnessed the event.

“The police arrived ten minutes after the settlers took over the house. Settlers told them they had a court order to occupy the home. Officers took a representative of the settlers and the resident owner’s son to the police station, where the settlers were told to leave the house for ten days and the owners were instructed to file an appeal. The settlers left the house, but also left two armed guards at the entrance to the home."

The incident follows an especially tense few days in the Middle East peace process. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drew sharp criticism from Arab leaders when she seemed to back away from the Obama Administration's demand of a freeze on settlements in the West Bank. The incident came when Clinton praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to temporarily suspend new settlements, rather than stop them completely.

Today, Clinton re-asserted the call for a freeze on settlements.

"The position of the Obama Administration has not changed. We do not believe that settlements are legitimate. We said that repeatedly. And we have made that clear to the Israelis, the Arabs, the Palestinians and the world.”

But the peace process in the Middle East - a month after Obama called for a renewed focus - has yet to make real progress.

We're joined by Stephen Zunes. He's a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies.