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...
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.
Palestinians "deserve an end to occupation" and an "independent state of their own," Obama said in a joint press conference with Abbas. And Abbas "is so eager to return to peace talks with the Israelis that he may soften his demand that Israel's president publicly pledge to halt construction of new settlements on Palestinian land before such negotiations can resume," says David Kirkpatrick in The New York Times, citing confidential talking points.
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Before going abroad, Obama set expectations for his trip that are "so low you'd think he was making another visit to Ohio," says E.J. Dionne at The Washington Post. But could the visit actually salvage the given-up-for-dead Israeli-Palestinian peace talks?
"Palestinians doubt Obama is willing to spend the domestic political capital required to pressure Israel to halt construction" on new settlements, says The Associated Press' Karin Laub. And "with settlements growing steadily, time for a partition deal may be running out," and fast. "A year from now, if the current trends continue, the two-state solution will not be possible," Israeli settlement watcher and Jerusalem expert Daniel Seidemann tells the AP. "The map will be so balkanized that it will not be possible to create a credible border between Israel and Palestine."
In that case, the situation is hopeless, says Andrew Sullivan at The Dish. Without a halt to the settlements, there can be no peace.
Hold on, because something has changed, say Politico's Josh Gerstein and Glenn Thrush: "Two paradigm-shifting elections — one in the U.S., one in Israel — have left the Israeli prime minister with no choice: Now he needs Obama." Netanyahu "eats polls for breakfast, he knows very well what the standing of the president is and what his own standing is," Clinton-era Israel ambassador Martin Indyk tells Politico. With Netanyahu's electoral setback and Obama's solid re-election, expect "a more pliant Netanyahu" more open to Obama's suggestions on settlements and Palestine.
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But Obama has learned some hard truths in his first four years in office. A reporter asked him if he'd made any mistakes regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in his first term. Obama's reply: "I'm absolutely sure there are a host of things I could have done that would have been more deft, or would have created better optics. But ultimately, this is a really hard problem."
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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.
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