Obama Should Re-Launch Peace Process
Some are expecting US President Barack Obama to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but this should not mean negotiations just for the sake of negotiations that eventually go nowhere, writes Nassif Hitti.
The re-election of President Barack Obama, his visit to the Middle East, and that of Secretary of State John Kerry are raising expectations within the Arab world. Particularly when it comes to the issue of the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by putting it on the front burner of regional politics.
The reasons behind these expectations are various. First, there is a belief in the Arab perception of the US policy in the Middle East. Such perception holds that the US President is free, in the second term, from the influence of the pro-Israeli lobby. With this in mind, he will take the diplomatic road for which the US holds the key, i.e., to make the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict a priority.
Another reason enforcing such expectations is the political profile of Secretary Kerry and his different statements on the need to address the issue.
The third reason is the opportunity provided by the visit to move things around and reach an achievement, which encourages such optimism. Some would consider this as no more than wishful thinking. Yet statements on promoting peace are not enough to revive a frozen peace process. What is needed, and what appears to be missing, is a strong willingness to change the rules of the game, a game in which the Israeli government, even if pressure mounts, indefinitely forestalls negotiations by insisting on myriad preconditions, petty details and the supposed lack of a "viable" Palestinian negotiating partner.
