Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets

By Samia Nasir Khoury

"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it."
-- Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001, to Shimon Peres, as reported on Kol Yisrael

Every time there is a meeting between the leadership of Israel and the USA, a lot of rhetoric is heard regarding easing restrictions or releasing prisoners. A removal of a couple of roadblocks from amongst hundreds is certainly not going to change the ugly reality of the occupation.

Neither is the release of a few hundred prisoners, whose terms are about to end anyway, from amongst thousands who should have been released a long time ago. In fact, with the Oslo Accords all political prisoners should have been released, so there is nothing new about Israel not abiding by agreements, or United Nations resolutions. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority did not press the issue of the prisoners in the context of the Oslo Accords hard enough. It kept dragging its feet on the issue until the Oslo Accords themselves were dragged into the grave. The way things are going, the Road Map will probably face the same fate.

I might sound skeptical about the fate of the Road Map because there are no signs or guarantees that Israel will not continue creating new realities on the ground. That is why I think the Palestinian Authority is na