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Peace Process? Check the Back Burner

(New York Times) Mark A. Heller - Israelis' preoccupations have shifted and, perhaps in an unconscious echo of Barack Obama's declared priorities for America, they want their leaders to focus on "nation-building at home." So to the question that most non-Israelis are asking - "What do the elections mean for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?" - the answer is, "Not much." As a result, the next Israeli government will almost certainly not undertake any major new initiative on the peace process. Its leaders will not be pushed by public opinion to become more proactive. Finally, nothing Obama does on this issue can be effective unless it fully complements a visible redefinition by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, of the purpose of the process. Only Abbas can dispel the sense of pointlessness - by clearly communicating that positive movement will culminate not just in Israeli concessions on territory but also in a definitive termination of the conflict, the renunciation of any further claims, and the peaceful coexistence of two states for two peoples. The writer is principal research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
2013-01-24 00:00:00
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