The breakdown of Mideast peace talks this month showed that the U.S. does not have the leverage to arrange face-to-face negotiations.
The administration was forced to face the reality that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not halt construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank ”“ an essential condition for direct Isreali-Palestinian talks.
It was a defeat for the administration’s initiative. And yet, the State Department remains on the case.
U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell returned to the region to look for common ground between the Israelis and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. will continue to press both sides separately toward a settlement. She declared that establishment of a Palestinian state is inevitable. “When one way is blocked, we will seek another. We will not lose hope and neither should the people of the region,” she said.
The main roadblock is the resistance of Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition to reinstating the moratorium that enabled negotiations to begin in September. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presents another problem: It is not clear he has sufficient support among Palestinians to successfully conclude a deal.
In the face of such difficulties, the administration’s strategy may simply be to avoid the complete collapse of peace hopes. Even though a peace agreement may be a distant goal, the U.S. can still do a great deal to help keep the peace in the region.
So the U.S. will try to assemble the pieces of a deal without direct talks between the main participants. Some analysts believe this approach can actually make headway on key issues like borders and security concerns, the existing settlements, water rights and the future of Jerusalem.
It’s likely an experienced negotiator like George Mitchell can make some gains. But it will take leadership and commitments from the main participants to make any significant progress toward a Mideast solution.
— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.
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