7 Steps to an Effective U.S. Peace Policy

The old habits of the Israelis and Palestinians will keep leading to failure.

Daniel Kurtzer

November 2, 2015 | http://nationalinterest.org/feature/seven-steps-effective-us-peace-policy-14220?page=show
A fundamental change is required in the U.S. approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In a region where everything else is falling apart, the so-called peace process has become emblematic of failure—failure by Israelis, Palestinians and Americans to assess correctly the current situation and to arrive at a viable, alternative approach. The old pathways simply will not lead to success.
American policy continues to rest on three pillars: First, that a two-state solution can be achieved through direct negotiations, with minimal substantive input from outside parties. Second, that the political cost at home will be too high and the political repercussions in Israel will be too severe to contemplate a more vigorous effort to curb bad behaviors, such as settlements. And third, that the Palestinians share more than half the blame for the failure of past negotiating efforts, in view of their rejectionist stances at Camp David II and in the Annapolis process, and in light of their repeated resort to violence and terrorism.http://nationalinterest.org/feature/seven-steps-effective-us-peace-policy-14220?page=show