Rather than previewing their peace proposals, the protagonists in this week's Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington made sure everyone knew their version of who is to blame for the negotiation's widely anticipated failure. Not surprising, really, because each side's position is well known to the other, and the odds of talks bridging the gap — even "direct" ones, as opposed to those called "proximity," i.e., mediated by a shuttling U.S. diplomat — remain long.
The Palestinians warn that there will be no agreement if Israel continues expanding its settlements on occupied land. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must "choose between settlements and peace," as Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat put it. The Israelis note that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas lacks the political strength to sell any deal to his people, possibly even to his own Fatah movement. Abbas governs under the shadow of his rivals in Hamas, which emphasized its rejection of a peace process in which it has no stake by launching two deadly attacks on Israeli settlers this week. The Israelis say Hamas is a proxy of Iran, whose influence is a key obstacle to peace. And if the Obama Administration wants peace, it had better get on with pulling Iran's claws.
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