The little optimism that surrounded the takeoff round of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations in Washington at the end of July is fading on the eve of the second round to be held in Jerusalem on Aug. 14. The optimism was initially due to the efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as his personal style and direct involvement.

Two factors allowed for the relaunching of the peace process, with the hope of reaching a negotiated settlement within nine months. From the Palestinian National Authority perspective, negotiations in a US-sponsored process are a one-way ticket. What was needed for such a process to succeed was to create — as much as possible — better conditions for the takeoff, despite skepticism surrounding the end results.

Thus, the issue is to engage the United States. For the Israelis, as long as their hands were not tied behind their backs — by imposed terms of reference and conditions — then there is no need to resist the US-initiated process, since they will be able to dictate, later on, the direction and speed of the negotiations.

This has become a general understatement for Israel, as it realizes that forcing its hand is never on the agenda of the peace process under US management, even if the Israelis show intransigence or threaten the process itself.