Israel Matzav

Krauthammer on the prospects of opening 'peace talks' with the 'Palestinians' by the end of September

The whole delay in the peace process is a self-inflicted wound of the Obama administration. Let's remember that for over a year, the previous prime minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, had been negotiating with the head of the Palestinians and made an astonishingly generous offer in December of '08, which the Palestinians refused, as they always refuse.

So Obama comes in and instead of picking up and trying to get the Palestinians to moderate, what does he do? He attacks Netanyahu. He tries to make an issue of settlements, which had been in consensus — the U.S. and Israelis had agreed: no new settlements, no new expansion of territory in [existing] settlements and dismantling of illegal settlements.

And the Palestinians had accepted that, had never refused negotiations [under these conditions]... But then Obama adds a condition of no thickening of settlements, i.e., you don't construct a kindergarten if children are born, which the Israelis have rejected.

And all of a sudden the Palestinians and Arabs have said: No negotiations until Israel jumps through this higher hoop.

So the Arabs and Palestinians have said: We are not going to move. We're going to let Obama extract unilateral concessions out of the Israelis, and that is why the process has stopped.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:41 AM