(New York Times) Peter Baker and Mark Landler - President Trump and his advisers are developing a strategy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would enlist Arab nations like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The emerging approach mirrors the thinking of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, who will visit the U.S. next week. The notion of recruiting Arab countries to help forge an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians - known as the "outside-in" approach - is not a new one. As secretary of state under President George Bush, James A. Baker III organized the first regional conference in 1991 at which Arab leaders sat down with Israel's prime minister. The difference is that in the last eight years, Israel has grown closer to Sunni Arab nations because of their shared concern about Iranian hegemony in the region. This is a departure from the countervailing assumption that if Israel first made peace with the Palestinians, it would lead to peace with the larger Arab world.
2017-02-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive