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Don't Expect Much from the French Summit on Middle East Peace
(Wall Street Journal) Aaron David Miller - After 20-plus years of planning mostly failed Middle East peace conferences, I know a fatally flawed one when I see it. The French peace initiative that opens Friday in Paris can't deliver a serious and sustained negotiating process, let alone a breakthrough. Motivation for real breakthroughs does not exist, given the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians on the big issues. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is unwilling to accept Palestinian terms for a settlement and sees little reason to participate in an international forum that might pressure him to do so. Moreover, the French approach has no chance of sustained survival without U.S. endorsement, but President Obama is not looking for an open fight with the Israelis before Election Day. The writer is a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.