There is a golden opportunity in the Middle East – one that might not be repeated for generations to come – to achieve peace and end the long conflict. One must benefit from this opportunity in order to restore the Palestinians' rights and impose the conditions of a fair peace on the Israelis the same way that the Arab youths are restoring their right to dignity and freedom, without heeding the regime's tanks and weapons of oppression. The young generations have their eyes riveted on their countries. These generations have lost hope and they have been disappointed by the trading with the “nationalistic issue” carried by the regimes, especially as this trade has turned into a method of oppressing demands and freedoms without actually progressing one step in the direction of Palestine. These young generations no longer consider the Western and American support of their demands in the face of their regimes as a burden or a flaw. They are no longer ashamed of making a connection between their taking refuge in the democratic slogans and Human Rights, and the fact that these slogans are Western-imported according to the claims of the campaigns that used to be launched against the persons brandishing these slogans. This is a golden opportunity that might not be repeated provided it is used correctly. But the Western forces and the USA will not be able to benefit from this opportunity unless they demonstrate their good intentions towards these young generations, and unless they prove that they actually embrace the rights of the populaces, and that they defend their demands wherever they are raised, and not only if these demands are directed against the Arab regimes. Barack Obama and the other Western leaders cannot possibly make a distinction between an Arab leader who is oppressing his people and taking their political rights and human dignity away, and an Israeli leader doing this to the Palestinian people. The Western forces have expressed their support of the Arab intifadas through political positions in countries such as Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, and in Egypt and Tunisia prior to that; and through military support such as in Libya. Similarly, these forces have the duty of expressing the same kind of firmness when it comes to imposing the conditions of just peace and the respect of international laws in the clash between Israel and the Palestinians. The double standards, which are reflected in the way of dealing, are still a characteristic of the Western behavior when it comes to the internal Arab affairs on the one hand, and their problem with Israel on the other hand. These double standards have been crystal clear in the past days when President Barack Obama tackled the issue of the Arab intifadas and the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians. Through the speech that he made from the US Department of State, he expressed his support of the youths of the Arab intifadas and his solidarity with them against their regimes. He considered that it is not in America's interest to stand by the regimes on the expense of their populaces. And through the same speech, he showed a great deal of progress on the road of respecting the international legitimacy in the issue of the dispute in the region when he alluded to the 1967 borders considering that these are the basis for a settlement between the two Palestinian and “Jewish” states. It is true that he did ignore the issue of Jerusalem and the refugees, but his vision implied that setting the final goal for negotiations (i.e. the borders of the two states) can act as the basis to solve the other obstacles. The Likud people in Israel rebelled against the speech. And 72 hours later, Obama himself was standing at the APAC meeting and announcing that the 1967 borders must constitute the basis of the peace agreement, but that the final borders must take into account “the new demographic realities on the ground,” i.e. the settlements that the Israelis have erected all over the west Bank. These are considered to be illegal structures by the international resolutions, and the stands of many different countries including the United States. Of course, the members of the Likud bloc applauded that; and one of them thought that “Netanyahu's wisdom has yielded its fruits in Obama's speech in front of the APAC.” This is a sample of the American double standards when it comes to dealing with the Arabs and with Israel. Perhaps Obama has the right to renew his term and gain the approval of the APAC group. However, the soft dealing with the Israeli thuggery – which has erected the “new demographic realities” all over the West Bank – comes at a time where Obama has been calling on Hosni Mubarak, Ben Ali, Bashar al-Assad, Gaddafi, and Ali Abdullah Saleh to halt the oppression of their people of to leave. This behavior not only threatens the forces of liberalism and moderation in the region, but it also enhances doubts concerning the credibility of the Western positions when these speak about the rejection of injustice and the support of justice while they do not actually do that in all the world.
