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Palestinian Refusal to Negotiate Dooms Peace Process
(Christian Science Monitor) Howard LaFranchi - Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. had revised its policy on the legality of Israeli settlements, saying the decision reflects "the reality on the ground." President Trump previously said that moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem was "nothing more, or less, than a recognition of reality." "People say, 'You can't do these things,' but the administration is saying, 'What has been done for so long isn't working,'" says James Carafano, director of foreign policy studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. "The finding on settlements is consistent with what the Trump administration has done in the past, which is basically telling the Palestinians, 'Don't assume the status quo is going to be there forever that had discouraged you from getting serious on negotiations.' If you don't move the embassy, hold on to this idea that the settlements are illegal, and continue to give [the Palestinians] bucket-loads of money, where is the pressure to deal?" Responding to claims that the U.S. moves "threaten the peace process," Carafano says the "reality" is that "the peace process was already dead" - doomed by the Palestinians' refusal to sit down at the negotiating table.