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A Postmortem of U.S. Diplomacy
(Commentary) Jonathan S. Tobin - In his interview, Indyk falls back on the same settlements excuse that Israel's critics always cite as proof that the Jewish state is obstructing peace. But the focus on how many "settlements" were being built during the talks is a red herring because almost all of the "settlements" - which are actually merely new houses being built in existing communities and not new towns - were being built in exactly the places Abbas supposedly had conceded would stay in Israel. In other words, the building had no impact on the peace terms. For Indyk to specifically blame the announcement that several hundred new apartments would be built in the Gilo section of Jerusalem as the straw that broke the camel's back of peace is absurd. Gilo, a 40-year-old Jewish neighborhood in the capital, would remain inside of Israel even if peace were reached. How, then, could a few more apartments in a place that would never be surrendered by Israel serve as an acceptable rationale for a Palestinian walkout?