| Every U.S. President since Jimmy Carter has | | | | Making matters even worse, Israel continues to |
| saved some political capital to spend, usually at | | | | build settlements in the West Bank area despite a |
| the end of their second term, on the obligatory | | | | six-month moratorium, and continues to demolish |
| U.S. function of mediating negotiations toward a | | | | Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. On the face |
| lasting peace between Israeli's and the Palestinians. | | | | of it, it is reasonable to suspect that Israel's main |
| Where Carter came close to accomplishing just | | | | ambition is the acquisition of more territory, and |
| that, he and each of his successors, and the | | | | that peace with the Palestinians means only that |
| principle figures involved, have ultimately failed. | | | | the Palestinians are more willing to allow that to |
| The only representative involved in the current | | | | happen. |
| September 2010 round of talks in Washington | | | | The difficulty here is that with the borderlines |
| who seems to hold great hope (however | | | | already so blurred and ever-changing as walls go |
| irrational) seems to be President Obama, who will | | | | up, settlements expand and Palestinian homes and |
| host Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu at | | | | olive trees are upended, the goal of reaching any |
| the White House. This is the same President | | | | agreement about the borders in a twin state |
| Obama who cheerily and blithely claimed (with a | | | | solution is unrealistic at the moment. If Israel |
| straight face, no less) that the economy is on the | | | | would sign an intermediate agreement to cease |
| mend, that his healthcare bill is something more or | | | | and desist all building, expansion, and raising of |
| other than a giveaway to the healthcare industry, | | | | Palestinian homes and property, and lawfully |
| and that the combat mission in Iraq is over. | | | | comply with the new agreement for a couple of |
| This is all to say that while Obama may be | | | | years, it would go a long way in proving to the |
| brimming with feigned confidence that there will | | | | world and to the Palestinians that they are sincere |
| be peace in the Middle East within a year, no one | | | | in their wish to uphold a basic agreement in any |
| else is. To his credit, the President has broken | | | | 'final solution.' |
| with his predecessors in hosting the talks earlier | | | | The second major component of any negotiated |
| than the established schedule, halfway through his | | | | peace between Palestine and Israel is that of |
| first term. It's either a fairly bold (stupid?) move | | | | Palestinians right of autonomy and self-rule. While |
| at a moment of political peril for him, or it may | | | | Israel has stated its willingness to loosen its iron |
| reflect a realistic self-assessment about the | | | | grip on traffic entering and leaving the Gaza strip, |
| likelihood of a second term. | | | | that hardly qualifies as either autonomy or |
| The same three points of contention have | | | | self-rule. Israel is unlikely to allow Palestinians full |
| derailed the effort each time: determining the | | | | autonomy as long as Palestine continues to |
| actual borders in the two-state solution; allowing | | | | recognize Hamas as its governing body. |
| Palestine self-governance; and allowing the right of | | | | As to the third still-unresolved condition for peace |
| return for those Palestinians and relatives thereof | | | | in the Middle East, Israel makes no secret that it |
| who fled or were forced from their homes during | | | | was founded as a state for Jews, and it fully |
| the 1948 Nakba. The resolution of these | | | | intends to stay that way. Recent efforts to have |
| intractable problems remains elusive, and most | | | | non-Jews take an oath of allegiance coupled with |
| Israeli's and Palestinians are not hopeful that the | | | | the destruction of Palestinian homes in East |
| attempt this time will prove any more successful. | | | | Jerusalem would in fact indicate that the state of |
| The dynamics entering into the current round are | | | | Israel is stepping up its efforts to ethnically |
| complex and multi-faceted, as they always are. | | | | cleanse itself of other faiths and other peoples. |
| Israel's refusal to accept Hamas as the legitimate | | | | Given the current climate and the unusually strong |
| ruling party of the Palestinians is probably the | | | | influence of the right-wing of the Knesset, the |
| deal-breaker from the get-go. While democratically | | | | concept of allowing the right of return for |
| elected to power in early 2006, Hamas, the party | | | | Palestinians to their land in Israel as part of the |
| Israel actually helped to form to counter the | | | | peace agreement is probably a non-starter. |
| feared Fatah, is viewed now rather as the main | | | | The current conditions then are particularly |
| threat to Israel's security. Israel has used the | | | | unfavorable for any accord in the Middle East, and |
| 'illegitimacy' of Hamas to wall off and inflict | | | | one has to wonder why Obama chose this |
| collective punishment on Gaza, which is now the | | | | particular time, politically and otherwise, to step up |
| largest and most populated open -air prison the | | | | to the plate and take his swing. |
| world has probably ever known. | | | | |