Can Netanyahu, Abu Mazen Make Peace?
Israelis and Palestinians have agreed on renewing negotiations, but the obstacles constitute an endless list of questions for which answers have been found, but will leaders agree to implement them?
So, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced in Amman (and not in Jerusalem or Ramallah) on Friday night [July 19] that the negotiations would resume. For anyone who forgot or who happened to suppress it, he was referring to peace negotiations that would last nine months, with the option of an extension, but which would end with the Palestinians and Israelis signing an agreement resulting in the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
So now let’s look at the relevant questions, each of which could result in a crisis and the breakdown of the talks:
Will Israel agree to evacuate most of the settlements in Judea and Samaria?
Will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be able to evacuate the settlements and receive the backing of his ministers, regardless of what government he heads?
