Israel Matzav: Mutual goal

Mutual goal

Israel and the 'Palestinians' have one thing in common regarding the upcoming round of 'proximity talks.'

[B]oth sides know better than to expect that U.S. special envoy Senator George Mitchell's shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah will be able to bridge the chasm between their demands. Instead, the mutual goal in the latest round of talks is to avoid being blamed for their failure.

Indeed.

The Obama administration should have left well enough alone. Instead, it pushed for these 'talks' that are likely to result in the following scenario:

While in theory a peace process might require that the protagonists make tough choices, the "proximity" process being initiated by the Obama Administration will, in fact, land the tough choices on the desk in the Oval Office. Four months or more from now, it will probably become clear that the gap between Israel and Palestine is unlikely to be bridged by simply talking. And then the question will be, Is the U.S. willing to force the issue by putting on the table its own views of an acceptable settlement and beginning to press both sides toward accepting it?

Three months before elections that are likely to result in the Democrats losing their majority in Congress? You've got to be kidding.

Add in that - unlike the 'Palestinians' - Israel is a democracy and that there is almost no support among Jewish Israelis for anything close to the 'settlement' that the 'Palestinians' are demanding.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Mutual goal