Obama's Israel visit: Is there hope for the moribund peace process?

Expectations for President Obama's three-day trip to the Holy Land are so low you could step over them. But what if...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama.
(Image credit: Heidi Levine-Pool/Getty Images)

President Obama's trip to Israel is mildly disorienting for anybody who sat through the past few years of American politics. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who all but endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012, once earned standing ovations in Congress for undermining Obama, and scored big "points back in Israel by accusing Obama of saying something he had not (that Israel should retreat to its 1967 borders)," says Karl Vick at TIME. Now "the famously frosty pair appeared determined to project a budding buddydom," exchanging warm handshakes, warmer compliments, and even a few choice jokes.

On Thursday, Obama is spending a few hours in Ramallah, the West Bank headquarters of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, then giving a speech to Israeli citizens in Jerusalem. His West Bank visit, especially, underlines that Obama is "hoping to move the Middle East peace process forward," even though that is not one of his official goals, say Vanessa O'Brien and Michele Chabin in USA Today.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.