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The Chances of the Latest White House Peace Plan
(Washington Post) Max Boot and Sue Mi Terry - The Oslo peace process, which began in 1993, offered Palestinians a deal: In return for recognizing Israel and ending the armed struggle, they would get a state of their own. To sweeten the deal, the U.S. and its allies showered the Palestinian Authority with assistance. Since 1993, the PA has received more than $31 billion in direct aid. The Palestinians' de facto capital in Ramallah is full of gleaming new buildings. Per capita gross domestic product among the Palestinians has more than doubled - from $1,200 in 1994 to $2,900 today. Economic aid has helped to grease the skids for security cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, but it hasn't brought peace any nearer. No Palestinian leader has been willing to sign a "final status" accord that would resolve contentious issues. Neither Hamas nor Fatah has ended the conflict because opposition to Israel is such an integral part of Palestinian identity. Unelected autocrats cannot easily afford to dissolve the ideological glue holding their ramshackle regimes together no matter how many riches we dangle before their eyes. Max Boot is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Sue Mi Terry is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.