Impasse?
The Palestinians can't seem to make up their minds. On Sunday two different Palestinian spokesmen made diametrically opposite statements. One said that they were fed up with Israel continuing building on the West Bank, and so they were going to abrogate all agreements with Israel and unilaterally declare a State. The other said that there is no substitute for direct talks and they were going to persevere, and hope Israel will accept their requirements (i.e another building freeze). The latter was echoing the words of Secty of State Hillary Clinton who also said that there are no substitutes for direct talks, while addressing an American pro-Palestinian group. Also, PM Netanyahu made the same point in his Sunday cabinet address.
But, both sides also made veiled threats against each other. Pres. Abbas threated that if Israel doesn't cooperate and the talks fail, there could be further violence, although he "hoped" it wouldn't become another intifada. Meanwhile PM Netanyahu stated that if the Palestinians acted unilaterally, so could Israel, and the Palestinians would lose out in the end. Threats of violence are a mainstay of Palestinian negotiating, i.e. if you don't give us what we want we'll start another intifada against you. But, the Israelis are used to this strategy, and as they said, such veiled threats of violence and unilateral action don't scare them, they've heard it all before, including the threats of Pres. Abbas to resign several times, that were never carried out.
The question is, what will happen to the Mid-east peace talks if Pres. Obama is weakened as expected by the results of the mid-term elections next week? It would probably benefit Israel, because the Palestinians and the Arabs in general have looked to Obama to support them and present their case. If he is less able to do this, if he is more concerned with domestic issues and political survival, it will mean that Israel is freer to deal directly with the Arabs, and they will have to reconsider hiding behind Obama. They might even have to consider compromising their intransigent positions, although this is unlikely. Their use of the building freeze for not continuing talks will be seen for the excuse it really is. Nevertheless, given the Arab reluctance to really make the compromises necessary to achieve a peaceful settlement with Israel, this may mean that another impasse in the "peace process" is looming.
But, both sides also made veiled threats against each other. Pres. Abbas threated that if Israel doesn't cooperate and the talks fail, there could be further violence, although he "hoped" it wouldn't become another intifada. Meanwhile PM Netanyahu stated that if the Palestinians acted unilaterally, so could Israel, and the Palestinians would lose out in the end. Threats of violence are a mainstay of Palestinian negotiating, i.e. if you don't give us what we want we'll start another intifada against you. But, the Israelis are used to this strategy, and as they said, such veiled threats of violence and unilateral action don't scare them, they've heard it all before, including the threats of Pres. Abbas to resign several times, that were never carried out.
The question is, what will happen to the Mid-east peace talks if Pres. Obama is weakened as expected by the results of the mid-term elections next week? It would probably benefit Israel, because the Palestinians and the Arabs in general have looked to Obama to support them and present their case. If he is less able to do this, if he is more concerned with domestic issues and political survival, it will mean that Israel is freer to deal directly with the Arabs, and they will have to reconsider hiding behind Obama. They might even have to consider compromising their intransigent positions, although this is unlikely. Their use of the building freeze for not continuing talks will be seen for the excuse it really is. Nevertheless, given the Arab reluctance to really make the compromises necessary to achieve a peaceful settlement with Israel, this may mean that another impasse in the "peace process" is looming.
posted by Jack Cohen at 7:54 AM
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