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In Israel, Blinken Is Betting on the Wrong Peace Process

(National Interest) Enia Krivine and Jonathan Conricus - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently visited Israel and the West Bank, and said that normalization is "not a substitute for progress between Israelis and Palestinians." In other words: Washington wants to tether Israel's warming relations with the wider Arab world to the progress of negotiations with the Palestinians that have gone nowhere for the last fifteen years. By linking these two efforts, Blinken is likely guaranteeing the failure of both. Palestinians see the PA as both corrupt and incapable of preserving law and order. It has no mandate to make the difficult compromises necessary for peace with Israel. Israelis know they have no credible partner with whom to negotiate peace. Four Israeli prime ministers from different political parties offered compromises in the name of peace over the years, but Palestinian leaders rejected them all. The PA continues rewarding terrorists and their families with handsome salaries for killing and maiming Jews. It makes no sense for Blinken to create a linkage between advancing regional normalization and the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The normalization track has particular value for Washington because it is building a robust regional alliance to serve as a bulwark against Iran. Enia Krivine is the senior director of the Israel Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Lt.-Col. Jonathan Conricus served for four years as the IDF International Spokesperson.
2023-02-16 00:00:00
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