Home          Archives           Jerusalem Center Homepage       View the current issue           Jerusalem Center Videos           
Back

Getting Abbas to the Table


(Jewish Ideas Daily) Elliot Jager - If the fractious Palestinian polity is in no way ready for a viable deal, and if imposing a solution on Israel is politically unfeasible and strategically self-defeating, what explains the full-court press to cajole Abbas to the table? The answer appears to be this: George Mitchell (for the American administration), Tony Blair (for the Quartet), and Catherine Ashton (for the EU) are deeply invested in the notion that Abbas is prepared to deliver on a historic two-state solution, and therefore even the illusion of momentum trumps the status quo. But does it? Yes, Israel wants to achieve a breakthrough through direct talks. But ill-conceived negotiations, in which Abbas is encouraged to advance maximalist demands regarding refugees, borders, Jerusalem, and security, could prove as counterproductive this time around as at Camp David in 2000 - when, unprepared for compromise, the Palestinians unleashed a years-long paroxysm of violence.
2010-08-20 08:50:13
Full Article

Subscribe to
Daily Alert

Name:  
Email:  

Subscribe to Jerusalem Issue Briefs

Name:  
Email: