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Obama’s March Madness in the Middle East

President Barack Obama will realize on his trip this week that Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not have an interest in a peace process, writes Alon Pinkas.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in New York September 21, 2011. Netanyahu said Wednesday that direct negotiation was the only way to achieve a stable Middle East peace and the Palestinian effort to secure U.N. recognition of statehood ''will not succeed.''    REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque  (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) FOR BEST QUALITY IMAGE ALSO SEE: GM1E8BQ1LQZ01 - RTR2RMH8

When President Barack Obama is done with his NCAA March Madness bracket predictions, he's likely to look at a different set of brackets, one already filled for his convenience by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: the brackets representing the new Israeli government, the 33rd government since 1948-49 (yes, the average life span is less than two years).

Unlike the NCAA brackets, the Israeli government doesn't offer any potential for riveting upsets, breathtaking surprises, pretty Cinderellas or last-second clutch performances.

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