This moment — with what is currently happening in Israel and the West Bank — is an opportune time for the US administration to get re-involved in favor of a viable peace process leading to a two-state solution. Actually, the volatile situation on the ground calls for it. Violence has become the daily law of the land, primarily in East Jerusalem.

Washington is aware of this; officials dealing with the Middle East are torn between two views: One believes that there is no chance to succeed in bringing the Netanyahu and Abbas governments together for any kind of political progress on a permanent status agreement, while the other says that without any movement toward a two-state solution, the current violence may deteriorate into a full intifada, or even worse.

These two views also reflect an apparent divide between the White House, which is completely disillusioned in the aftermath of the failure of Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts in 2013-14, and the State Department, which is encouraged to act by its various delegations in the Arab countries.

A senior State Department source involved in Middle East policy planning told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that it is clear from their East Jerusalem Consulate contacts with the Palestinian leadership that halfway measures will not suffice. The source expects President Mahmoud Abbas, during his United Nations General Assembly speech on Sept. 30, to issue a blatant warning to the international community, or even attempt to shake the current status quo in relation to upholding the Oslo Accord: "We are communicating with both parties about the need to curb unilateral acts of violence and settlement expansion. We are conveying to Israel that, without a peace process, it will be difficult for the US to stop international initiatives at the United Nations. Yet at this point, we won't go beyond these communications."