MIDDLE EAST WATCH : Risky Move

Israel’s highly publicized inauguration of a new settlement on the occupied Golan Heights in Syria on Monday, just hours after the Mideast peace conference adjourned in Madrid, brought cheers from Israeli hard-liners and a rebuke from Secretary of State James A. Baker III. The settlement represents another of those in-your-face gestures aimed at cementing Israel’s territorial claims, even if that means embarrassing Israel’s closest ally.

Housing Minister Ariel Sharon, who presided over the festivities on the Golan and who wants to replace Yitzhak Shamir as prime minister, long ago made clear that he and other right-wingers don’t really care about what Washington feels, or about the peace talks, which they fear and distrust. That may play well among some segments of the Israeli electorate. Certainly it is not helping Israel’s standing in the United States.

A recent U.S. opinion poll found that, by a margin of 37% to 35%, Americans for the first time view Israel as a greater impediment to Middle East peace than the Arabs. The poll is consistent with others that, certainly since the advent of Shamir’s government, have indicated a steady softening in American public backing for Israel.

Most Israelis highly value American political and economic support for their country. Most also say they would forgo settlement activity and give up occupied territory in exchange for peace. There are some in Israel’s government who seem determined to move in the opposite direction, whatever the cost. That cost, both at home and abroad, could be very high.