There is a peacemaker in the White House and now we know what Israel is doing about it. Since his first and only meeting with the US president in May, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to derail Mr Obama’s efforts even before he announces his long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East. Mr Netanyahu has failed so far but there is no guarantee that he will not succeed in the future.
In his meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Obama clearly communicated to him a determination to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian struggle and the remaining issues of occupation once and for all. Why does Mr Obama want to do this? Surely, not just to restore regional stability, not just to safeguard Israel’s future or “to save it from itself”, in the words of Gideon Levy, a columnist for Ha’aretz, and not just to end the agony of the Palestinians. A final settlement is in the national interest of the US, particularly after the Bush administration had so deeply tarnished America’s moral standing and credibility.
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