(Foreign Policy) Aaron David Miller - The deal concluded last week in New York between Secretary of State Clinton and Prime Minister Netanyahu - if it gets through the Israeli cabinet and the Palestinians - should allow negotiations to resume in the wake of a three-month moratorium on settlements. Any advance in the world of Arab-Israeli negotiations is significant. The extension of the settlement moratorium will allow the administration to shift focus from settlements (where it had no chance to succeed) to the substance of the negotiations (where it must go if it wants an Israeli-Palestinian agreement). The administration will be under enormous pressure to broker an agreement on borders and security within three months, or at least make enough progress to ensure that both sides have a stake in continuing. A rapidly ticking clock can be a catalyst if the issues on the table aren't consequential ones; if they are, time can work as an enemy, not an ally. Israelis and Palestinians don't want to be rushed into making mistakes or concessions on core issues. The writer is a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
2010-11-17 07:56:27Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive