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What Washington Is Missing in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks

(Foreign Policy) Michael Singh - Secretary Kerry was not wrong to pursue Israeli-Palestinian peace - doing so is in our interest and is an important element of American leadership in the region. Yet he should not seek to reconstitute the process as it previously stood. It was tactically flawed, insofar as it required both leaders to take political risks for a scant payoff. Secretary Kerry has argued that it is better to try and fail at peace than not to try at all, but failure has a cost. A high-profile failure deepens pessimism and feeds enthusiasm for counterproductive alternatives. There can be no substitute for direct engagement between the parties themselves. Kerry substituted parallel U.S.-Israel and U.S.-Palestinian discussions. Emphasizing direct dialogue means lowering the talks' profile and dispensing with overly-ambitious deadlines. A greater emphasis should be placed on Palestinian economic growth and reform. Doing so helps Palestinians focus on what they stand to gain through peace. It also reassures Israelis that their Palestinian neighbor will not be a failed state. The U.S. should repudiate the "BDS movement," which calls for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel, rather than attempt to use the specter of boycotts to spur Israel along. The BDS movement persuades Israel that the campaign against its existence as a Jewish state will not cease even with an agreement. In addition, the success of a future Palestinian state will depend on economic cooperation with Israel, which will be undermined by boycotts and sanctions. The writer is managing director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
2014-04-16 00:00:00
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