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After the Itamar Massacre

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Robert Satloff - For almost two years, Obama administration efforts were characterized by an obsessive desire to condition the resumption of negotiations on a total freeze on Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank (and, at times, in Jerusalem too). Although, since autumn, the administration has corrected itself and stopped insisting on a settlement freeze, it hasn't replaced that policy with one based on actually trying to convince the parties to return to the table. In this case, that would be the Palestinians, who refuse to negotiate the future disposition of the territory they seek for their own. Ironically, despite the PA's current refusal to negotiate, the administration appears to believe that Israel is primarily responsible for the absence of diplomacy. Hence, the president's widely reported statement to Jewish leaders earlier this month questioning whether Israeli leaders truly want peace. One of the most important lessons of the Arab revolutions of 2011 is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be very important to Israelis and Palestinians, but it does not motivate much political action elsewhere in the region. However, even with Libya burning, Bahrain in turmoil, and uncertainty reigning in Cairo, Tunis, and Sanaa, the Obama administration is sending strong signals that it expects Israel to jumpstart the peace process with a new initiative in coming weeks. From an American perspective, now is the moment for the U.S. to project the strength of its partnership with Israel, as part of a strategy to reaffirm allies in the region at this time of momentous change. One place to begin would be clarity from the administration about the need to resume Israeli-Palestinian direct negotiations now, before ideas of internationalizing the conflict or declaring U.S. or Quartet-defined terms for negotiation fully take hold. The writer is executive director of The Washington Institute.
2011-03-15 00:00:00
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