Comrade Alain Gresh on centrality of Palestine

"Beyond these direct consequences, the Arab revolutions have changed a fundamental fact - for the first time since the 1970s, the geopolitics of the region cannot be analyzed without taking into account, at least to some extent, the aspirations of peoples and countries that have become masters of their own destiny again.  For decades, the United States was able to support Israel unconditionally without having to pay the price - except that of their unpopularity in the Arab streets, which they didn't care about - since the Arab leaders remained faithful allies. This period is coming to an end. In March 2010, General David Petraeus, then head of the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), was heard saying, "Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in this region and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world."[3] This can also be seen in the Egyptian debate around the Camp David accords and the question of Israeli-Palestinian peace. As Steven A. Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York) wrote, "From the perspective of many Egyptians, this arrangement hopelessly constrained Cairo's power while freeing Israel and the United States to pursue their regional interests unencumbered. Without the threat of war with Egypt, Israel poured hundreds of thousands of Israelis into settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, invaded Lebanon (twice), declared Jerusalem its capital, and bombed Iraq and Syria."[4] (thanks Mirvat)