Surely the heart should give a cheer at the hints and signals that suggest Barack Obama will stand before the world next month, either at the UN general assembly or the G20 in Pittsburgh, and launch his own bid for Middle East peace. We have told ourselves for so long that a solution is possible – that everyone knows the contours of an eventual agreement between Israelis and Palestinians – that the urge is almost overwhelming to believe it is within reach.
After all, here is a president who is internationally admired where his predecessor was reviled; a president apparently alive to the nuances and complexities of this deeply troubled region; above all a president who believes in diplomacy.
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