June 16, 2009 (WAM) -- It seems the more things change, the more they remain the same for Israel. No one expected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to really embrace peace, even as the Israelis had the whole world wait with a bated breath for the Israeli leader's so-called peace plan, a UAE paper commented today. ''Yet the Palestinians, the Arabs and the rest of the world hoped against hope that may be Israel was about to change. And, may be, Netanyahu would after all respond to the US pressure and the world opinion and recognise Palestinians' right to freedom and dignity,'' according to an editorial published in the Khaleej Times.

''But Israel is nothing if not consistent, especially under the Likud party leadership. After all, Netanyahu had never accepted the Palestinians' right to freedom and never recognised the accords his predecessors had signed with the Palestinians. He wouldn't so much as utter the word Palestine. So what he said on Sunday night in his much-anticipated speech shouldn't have really come as a surprise to anyone, the paper remarked. ''Responding to US President Barack Obama's intense pressure for progress on the peace front and Palestinian state, Netanyahu willy-nilly agreed to such a utopia. However, he has imposed conditions that make the so-called independent Palestine merely a ridiculous idea on paper. In fact, Netanyahu does not even call it Palestinian state; he calls it "Palestinian territory", whatever that means.

''More important, the Israeli leader insists the future Palestinian state cannot have its own army or security force. It cannot possess or import arms, will not control its own air space and its borders will be controlled by Israel. ''In effect, no matter what Israel or the world chooses to call it, the future Palestine will in effect be nothing but a colony of the state of Israel. So much for an independent Palestinian homeland and so much for the dignity and freedom President Obama has promised the Palestinians. And, in return, all Israel asks from the Palestinians and Arabs is the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and giving up the Palestinians' right to return to their homeland.

''One does not have to be a pundit to know what these conditions mean for the Palestinians. The Palestinians or Arabs in Israel will always remain second-class citizens and those who were forced out of their homes and lands can never expect justice or any recompense.

''In his ?historic speech', the Israeli leader also insisted there would be no freeze on Jewish settlements no matter what the US says or demands. He says the settlements are essential for the "normal and harmonious growth" of Jewish people. The question is, if Israel continues to build Jewish settlements in the West Bank and around Jerusalem, where is the Palestinian state going to come up, if it indeed ever materialises? ''After all, Gaza, West Bank and parts of Jerusalem are what remain of Palestine. This is why it is surprising the White House should term Netanyahu's speech as an ?important step forward'. This is, actually, two steps backward. This is worse than what the Palestinians had been promised in the past by Israeli leaders,''it indicated. ''This is nothing but a mockery of all international laws and conventions as well as world opinion. The question is, how long will the US and the world community tolerate this unreasonable behaviour of Israel? How much is ?enough' before the world moves to help the Palestinians?, the Khaleej Times asked.