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Will Obama Make a Last-Minute Policy Play on Israel and the Palestinians?

(Jerusalem Report) Ilan Evyatar - Speculation has been rife that before he leaves office, President Barack Obama will lay out a suggested framework for a two-state solution, or use the UN Security Council to push a resolution that would either condemn settlements or lay down guidelines for a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. "I don't think there is cause for great concern," said former national security adviser Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Ya'akov Amidror. "I see no reason for Israel to be overly worried. It may be unpleasant, and it would be better if it didn't happen, but I don't see the Americans putting anything extreme on the table." Amidror also pointed out that regional circumstances could impede going to the Security Council on this issue at this time. "I think it would be ridiculous if that is what the UN were to discuss at a time when the battle is ongoing for Mosul, when there are so many deaths in Syria, [and] when refugees are pouring into Europe." "Either way, what the Americans have put on the table until now hasn't brought the Palestinians to negotiations and whatever they bring to the table won't get them to negotiate." Prof. Eytan Gilboa, Director of the Center for International Communication at Bar-Ilan University, says it would be a violation of custom for an American president to come out with a new initiative during his remaining time in office that would affect the policies of the next president. "If I were advising Obama," says Gilboa, "I would tell him, 'If you want to do it, do it in a speech after the next president is in place or write it in your memoirs.'"
2016-11-29 00:00:00
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