In case the news leaks prove to be true, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might have swallowed the bait dangled to him by Moscow, to sign a $1 billion natural gas deal, using the Palestinian offshore fields in the Mediterranean and a smaller land field near Ramallah.
Such a deal has its repercussions, one of which is to distance Ramallah from the American framework plan and from State Secretary John Kerry’s intensive pressure on Israel to evacuate all settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories except for five, to be considered as part of the proposed land swap between Israelis and Palestinians.
Such a stand by Abbas will be welcomed by settlers, since they know that the only power that can effectively execute a “land for peace” deal is the United States under the current Democratic Obama administration.
In case the American negotiation partner is alienated or frustrated, a tangible peace formula will disappear for decades.
Russia, with so many political cards up its sleeve, tries to send the message to Washington that Moscow is still a regional and international player, even though the Soviet Union disappeared as a great superpower.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message to Washington is that no deals can be concluded without Moscow nodding approval.
The US and Britain used Arab oil to impose their hegemony on world markets; Moscow is now using the same stratagem: use its control of Arab natural gas fields to enhance its presence in the world markets.
An oil contract was signed last December between Syria and Russia for oil exploration, with exclusive concessions to Moscow, similar to the 30 billion cubic metres of Palestinian natural gas to be produced by the famous Gazprom gas exporting and exploration company.
This Russian deal with the Palestinians comes simultaneously with the offer to Iran to buy half a million barrels of oil daily as part of a $1.5 billion contract.
The Palestinian president might be justified in his reaction to turn to the Russians, as a result of his frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and despair at not being able to honour his commitments to his people: end the Israeli occupation, establish a sovereign democratic state, or have his people enjoy freedom and have their rights respected.
One hopes that Abbas will wait for four months to see what Kerry’s peace framework will lead to before committing himself to sign with Moscow a political deal covered in economic wrappings.
Similar deals with the same wrapping were concluded with Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and Muammar Qadhafi of Libya, but led, surprisingly, to a different end.
The tragic component in the whole political scene is that for such mistakes, only the man in the street pays the price, through loss of family, suffering, death, be it in Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen or Palestine.
