Are peace talks doomed to fail before they start?

They are bound to fail. Firstly let us consider the Palestinian Charter which is for the 'Destruction of the State of Israel' ... and then let us be reminded of the sage wisdom of the Israeli PM wanting Peace but with a Demiliarised Palestinian State, when considering the aim of these Arabs is the Destruction of Israel.... It is the wisest and only way to a peaceful existence unless one is agreeable to a peace when the other, namely the Palestinian/Arabs aim is for the Destruction of Israel. How foolish could anyone be to agree to only a temporary one when the 'Palestinians' , soon after signing for Peace, aim at destroying the Jewish State as their Covenant demands?. Is it not foolish to sign any ;Peace Deal' with someone whose only aim is your destruction...? Israel knows the Aabs well, Natanyahu was born among them, you cannot fool him too easily. Do not trust the Arab.......

The Simple side is that Israelis want a Land to bring their Family to live on. That isn't being "Racist" that is being Concerned. A Democratic Society isn't as BIG a term as you think. The US is a Republic we all know that, we are democratic as opposed to Theocratic, those who rule here are 'ideally' Voted IN. Israel has Elections 'that's being democratic about it. Dave

Don't expect good tidings from the American leader. When a african american changes there name and adds HUssein in the middle, they change there faith to Islam. Everyone knows there will no peace---ever. So don't give up any more land. This land was given to the Jews when they came out of Eqypt. Build were you like. Any nation that comes against you will be chopped into pieces.

Rob: your confusion is warranted but should be excused for the sake of a historical context. Israel was and is an invention of the industrialized western world to secure a religious uber minority from thousands of years of pogroms and worse. That it a Jewish Democracy is not the point. You might take exception to the UN mandate in the mid-nineteenth century that conjured up this State, but a Democracy for Jews is not an oxymoron.

The basis for liberty, justice and mercy. America adopted the Judeo - Christian ethos on purpose, there is no law greater.

I sympathize with Palestinians who were displaced and suffered great injustices when the modern state of Israel was first formed. They are owed reparations for the lands and homes confiscated from them. However, they have in many ways become their own worst enemy. How can Israel ever be asked to acquiesce when Hamas rockets terrorize their towns? I can't imagine there being a East and West Washington DC. The splitting a city idea sure didn't work out well for Berlin after WWII and I can't imagine it would work better for Jerusalem. There are plenty of injustices committed on both sides. Israel has a right to exist in peace, and while Hamas refuses to accept that there can never be a peaceful two state solution.

wonderful article palestinians need to change too and respect and embrace what could be a great neighbour.

it is hard to believe that you really read it all -tora, bible and khoran- and claim to know what you call the jewish character! I am happy that you do not play any role in the international arena. However I agree that people with your unbalanced biased view of the complex reallity are the ones responsible for perpetuation of the hatred and radicalism. I wonder that the source of your distorted ideas came from the protocols of the elders of sion!

jewish character as told in bibles, torah and quraan you are nation of controversy and do not keep promises. you are only motive is to rob palestinians of their land, identity and history. But you have created many mischievious in this world, and the world can see except europe and america who are financed by the zionist money to support politicians. One day you will all go back to europe if you do not give palestinians their lands of 1967 borders. Before it is too late you better make peace, you shouls sacrifice your pride and talk to hamas as they are elected by the gaza people. I kno wyour are biiased and you always publish stories that favours the state of israel and their actions to opress the arabs.

NTA: "250 000 settlers...who has the solution ?" Make them Palestinian citizens, and then agree to pay generous compensation to 250,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon / Syria / Jordan, etc. Then there will be: a) 250,000 Jews living in Palestine who will be keen to sell up their house and move back into Israel, and there will also be: b) 250,000 cashed-up Palestinians who will be keen to buy a new home so they can start a new life. Do that, Nora, and then watch the magic of the free-market do the work for you.... Those "settlers" who want to stay can become "Jewish Palestinians", and they can become model citizens living in peace and harmony with their new Arab neighbours. And those "settlers" who can't bear that thought can sell up and move back to Israel, and their place (and their places) will be bought out by cashed-up (ex)refugees. Win/Win for everybody, and the best part is that nobody - but NOBODY - has to die.

How about ALL sides declare Jerusalem an International City of Peace? A city that is a repository of learning and knowledge. Libraries and world-class universities. But...How to pay for it? A suggestion: 1. A city council of all concerned parties represented, local Jews, Muslims, and Christians, with a couple of rotating UN members. 2. Have ALL residents swear and sign agreements to non-violence, with the penalty of forfiture of their property and PERMANENT removal from the city. 3. A police force built on Gurkhas and Sihks (Buddhists and Hindus) with local officers. The idea has what every business wants...repeat customers. Nearly 3.5 BILLION Abrahamic adherents plus curious others wanting a peaceful destination. It would bring TRILLIONS of dollars worth of tourism, solve unemployment issues, and extend the influence of Israel and Palestine throughout the world in a positive way. Naive? Sure. But it beats all sides gleefully attacking eachother regularly.

"Non-Jewish Israeli citizens, and there are about 1.2 million of them, have all the same rights as Jewish citizens" Interesting. When I was a kid in the USA I was told that black people had all the same rights as white people. They could go to schools that were "separate but equal". They didn't learn as much because they were lazy. As it turned out, when we got "integration" the black schools near me were closed because the buildings weren't good enough for white students. We all went to the white schools. Blacks couldn't buy or rent in white areas even if they had the money. There were separate motels for blacks who traveled. (And blacks could travel anywhere.) Is Israel like that? Do Israeli-arabs mostly go to the same schools? Can they buy and rent homes wherever they want? Can they travel everywbere in Israel? From what I have read, Israel is worse for Israeli-arabs than my segregationist home was for blacks. Can you honestly deny it?

"Maybe Iran will, in due time. First they need a few bombs of their own to back up such a move." - Mark B If Iran developed a nuclear deterrent it wouldn't need the Hamas and Hisbollah bombs to keep Israel pinned down. The ONLY way any Israeli PM can make peace is if he is able to use the excuse that America made him do it. Otherwise he would end up out of power or like Rabin.

"Mark, most Israelis don`t want a large Israel." - Yaron Understood. "Most Israelis don`t care, and most Israelis don`t want to loose what was already acquired. Although most of them never set an inch over the green line." - Yaron Understood, and I have stated that as far as I can see most Israelis are indifferent to what is out of sight. "The sad thing, is that life is difficult in Israel (not for security reason), lots of work, low salaries, lot of pressure, and everybody wants everything. Because of that there so busy with themselves that they simply don`t care about what happens 30 km from where they are living." - Yaron Which is why a small number of fanatics have real power and most Israelis don't matter to the government. Nothing I can do about it Yaron. Israelis have allowed the hijacking of their nation by fanatics. It is a problem citizens of Israel must solve, or live with the results.

Israel left Lebanon. South Lebanon is a hotbed of terrorists and missiles aimed at Israel's population centers, and the International troops have failed to prevent the missile build up, which was their mission. Israel left Gaza, and over 7,000 missiles were launched into Israel. Israel left most of Judea and Samaria, and terrorist attacks from these territories led to the death of over 1,500 Israelis. Abbas, in Arabic, still talks of driving the Jews into the sea. Jerusalem was supposed to be an international city in 1948, but the Jordanians captured it, and destroyed just about every Jewish holy site. Israel captured Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem after Jordan attacked Israel in 1967. Half of Israel's Jews came from Arab countries, from whence they were kicked out of from 1948-1982.

generally speaking Arabs do not have a political/diplomatic problem that needs resolution, but rather a collective self-created cultural/mental/emotional condition manifesting itself in typical psychotic behavior whereby the masses/leaders live in an imaginary existence. Ever try to reason logically with a psychopath? Most are in their own isolated world disconnected from reality and those around them. No logical arguments can change their issues or cure them of their disease. Thus, what is needed is not a collection of politicans/diplomats, pundits or brilliant individuals hoping to solve a given set of political problems diplomatically or logically, but a cadre of mental health specialists such as psychiatrists and psychologists - along with couches and straitjackets.

This is informed and lucid; however, if anything is clear from the past 40 years of peace efforts relating to Israel, it's that incremental processes don't work. They are always derailed by one or the other sides choosing to commit some act of terror. I think at this point it's fair to say that the two primary parties, Israel and the Palestinians, are simply unable to make peace on their own, and a solution should be imposed from outside. Since from some perspectives, Israel has more to lose by making peace since they largely control reality on the ground, effectively pressuring Israel would have the greatest returns. I see no reason why the U.S. should continue to subsidize Israel's military and economy with extremely high foreign aid grants. Nor why the U.S. should continue to take heat for protecting Israel from condemnation at the UN. Both of these things could be withdrawn unless and until Israel ceases to treat the peace process with distain.

This is informed and lucid; however, if anything is clear from the past 40 years of peace efforts relating to Israel, it's that incremental processes don't work. They are always derailed by one or the other sides choosing to commit some act of terror. I think at this point it's fair to say that the two primary parties, Israel and the Palestinians, are simply unable to make peace on their own, and a solution should be imposed from outside. Since from some perspectives, Israel has more to lose by making peace since they largely control reality on the ground, effectively pressuring Israel would have the greatest returns. I see no reason why the U.S. should continue to subsidize Israel's military and economy with extremely high foreign aid grants. Nor why the U.S. should continue to take heat for protecting Israel from condemnation at the UN. Both of these things could be withdrawn unless and until Israel ceases to treat the peace process with distain.

NTA: "250 000 settlers...who has the solution ?" Make them Palestinian citizens. And in exchange agree to pay generous compensatation to 250,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan, etc. Then there will be a) 250,000 Jews living in Palestine who will be keen to sell up their house and move back into Israel, and there will be b) 250,000 cashed-up Palestinians who will be keen to buy a new home so they can move out of their refugee camp. Do that, Nora, and then watch the magic of free-market forces do the work for you....

"The biggest problem, as I`ve written before, is the unwillingless of the Arab world to accept Israel as "the Jewish state of Israel". No government (Arab or not) is obliged to OFFICIALLY recognize the State of Israel as "the Jewish state of Israel". The obligation is to recognize the State of Israel, as defined by current International Law, which means 1967 borders (with minimal commonly agreed modifications). Of course, that state is "Jewish" because the majority population (80%) is Jewish, but it is up to the citizens of that country (all of them) to decide its nature. To impose a recognition of "the Jewish state of Israel" as a precondition is a big and smelly red herring (which really conveys to the world the desire to stall negotiations). By the same token, Israel is not obliged to recognize "the Muslim state of Saudi Arabia" (which the Saudis do not demand). BTW, how would you feel as a Jew living in Chicago if the USA was "the Christian Anglosaxon state of America"?

Ibrahim- you are right in one sense, now that we hold the land we are strong - if there is to be a Palestinian state then we are being asked to take a collosal risk - the Palestinians are not really being asked to take any risk. What the Palestinians are being asked to give is recognition to a narrative of two states living in peace with each other, each of which represents the national aspirations of its people. As a secular Israeli I despair of today's news - the resettlement of the heart of our homeland after 67, which we saw as shiny as gold, was indeed gold - but we now see it as a golden calf to be worshipped - we have lost our way as a country - typified by a Prime Minister who does not lead, and who jumps from one inane soundbite to another, to ministers who are not fit to be janitors, to a President who bespoiled himself and us today by Kowtowing to people who despise us as much as they sponge off us, to a decision to build 1600 extra apartments for draft dodgers.

there is no peace if palestinians were kickec out of their homes for other jews to take over their land, pals will have every moral right to kick those jews out of their homes and their land

The simple truths are: 1. In 1967 zero percent of Israel citizens were West Bank residents. Today it is nearly 10 percent (inclusive of E. Jlem). 2. Neither the Israeli left nor right has the will to engage in the kind of civil war needed to uproot the settlers. 3. The Palestinian dream of a genuine state, and not merely an Indian reservation, has been defeated. 4. Gaza today is the largest prison camp on the face of the earth where every last human activity, from the number of calories a child gets to the number of times a Gazan family can travel to see its relatives ont he West Bank, is under Israeli control. 5. Israel (and the U.S., without which there is no Israel) can choose between: apartheid, extermination or a bi-national democracy.

No peace with soulless terrorists and terrorist supporters, no more jewish blood to be spilled in name of a bunch of crimninals of worst kind.

Yes, there are powerful rejectionist forces in both sides (who want the whole cake). But that's where the symmetry ends. The key point is: one of the sides (Israel) has much more power to implement (or at least jump start) the deadlock. The facts speak by themselves: Israel is the party that could break this deadlock, but she is still building settlements. The USA government complains but in the end does nothing, and Palestinians cannot do anything about it because they lack military, political and economical power. When will the Israeli government announce a compensation plan for settlers in "isolated" settlements (which would be in the Palestinian state on the make)? The fact that there is not even a discussion of such compensation plan proves that the Israeli Jewish side feels that it can have its cake and eat it. Really, all therapies that you may invoke are plain side games when the side wielding power is not in a hurry to negotiate. Come on ! it's not rocket science.

All people in Israel have equal rights. Not sure what your point is. Yes, socioeconomically some groups do better than others, just like the US. But, Israeli Arab's vote, hold jobs, etc.

(I found this a relatively good piece although it is a bit unfair to Israel.) My friend Ibrahim, I think many parties hold cards. The Saudi's hold cards, Hamas holds cards, the PA holds cards, Hezbollah. Israel has to viwe all of it's threats, not just the Palestinians. The biggest problem, as I've written before, is the unwillingless of the Arab world to accept Israel as "the Jewish state of Israel". The looming threat of the returning "refugees" also are as big a non starter as any settlement expansion, etc. It saddens me that an idea like temporary borders can not work without a major international force. But, those forces have not served Israel well either. Not that it matters now but had the Arab world been less agressive after '67 we would be looking at a very different scenario now. It is very disingenous to consistantly say Israel does not want peace. Not helpful either. Clinton/Barak plan and Olmert plans were both fair. They were turned down.

Why does the U.S. give Isreal 3.1 Billion dollars every October 1st ????? Cannot Isreal stand on her own ???? I am a big fan of Isreal but sadly we cannot afford this charity any longer. Make the Orthodox put down their Old Testaments and get a job ! Or have Steven Spielberg foot the bill. I'm sorry Isreal but we can't afford this handout right now.

"The Palestinians accuse Israel of not wanting peace, and justifiably point to the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank." This is exactly the crux. What have the Palestinians done for thirty years? Nothing constructive. They've stolen hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid, & built nothing to make a better life for themselves. They've established Hamas - whose online charter calls for mass destruction of Israel (sh... and the West) - & voted them into 3/4 of their parliament. They sent hundreds of suicide murderers, men/women, to kill and maim tens of thousands of innocent bystanders. Their schools' curriculums - also dictated in above Charter (is anyone reading this stuff?) - preach martyrdom to expand Islamic rule worldwide, read that Europe, and now the U.S. They've built not one infirmary, old age home, theater, library. Nothing. Billions of hard earned tax payer dollars. And all they complain about is the Israelis build a couple of homes. Really.

"No wonder, no government in Israel can afford the 67 borders." - Nora Tel Aviv Accepted. So why lie about Israel wanting peace? Why posture about wanting a two-state solution. Why not just be honest with the world and yourselves?

"Most israelies want a two state solution. Israel has already withdraw from territories in exchange for peace and has dismantle settlements." - arik Then why are more settlements being developed? Why did Israel make Likud and Avigdor Lieberman their leaders? The facts on the ground show that the current government of Israel has no interest in peace and is far less clever than it imagines in how it thwarts any possibility of a two-state solution. The ACTIONS are clear, the intent of Netanyahu, Lieberman and Barak is Greater Israel beside the Gaza Ghetto. On the West Bank the Palestinians will just have to live in anyplace no Israeli wants. Why continue to protest that Israel isn't doing what it is and that it really would rather do what it doesn't? What is wrong with honesty? Clearly the USA is not going to do anything if Israel just does what it wants. So why the lies? Clearly there are Israelis who want a two-state solution, but clearly they do not have any influence.

I've been saying all along that religion was the main obstacle to mid-east peace. The religious views, hopes and ambitions of politicians and political activists are usually covered up, but play a huge roll. In the Bible, mainstream religion is depicted as a Harlot called Babylon-The-Great. The Bible says that the Wild Beast (The United Nations) will hate the Harlot and eat her up. Now we see why. The U.N. stands for peace and unity. This is what it pushes for. Peace between Israelis and Palestinians can't happen until religion is either destroyed entirely or watered down so much that it no longer has any real influence over peoples lives. This process is gaining momentum. The process where the pursuit of economic gain trumps any religious motive. Economic progress depends on peace, security and stability. When people's lives are dominated by work and the pursuit of wealth, they become fully captivated by it's interests which just so happen to match those of the Wild Beast.

peace talks must go on immidiatley without delay if people of middle east seek prosperity and safety .alternative to peace is war , and war will be costly to all countries including israel .to pull the carpet from underneath fanatics and war mongers , people of the region must work hard for peace and they must pressure leaders to do so . if war breaks out , millions will suffer for long times to come .region will go back to dark , savage era .give peace a chance .

Israel is not "only Jewish". 20% are Arab and other, and vote and have parliamentary representatives.

I know very little about either Israeli politics or Palestinian politics. I do know that the announcement of the huge settlement expansion during Mr. Biden's visit was a deliberate slap in the face of the U.S., and a clear signal that the Netanyahu government has no interest in any settlement with the Palestinians. For years the rationale, at least as expressed to the U.S., has been the concept of "land for peace." The reality is that Israel doesn't want peace, it wants land. There is therefore nothing to negotiate, just a tactic to stall until Israelis occupy so much of the West Bank that they feel free to annex it.

Maybe Iran will, in due time. First they need a few bombs of their own to back up such a move.

The Palestinians know perfectly well the 'temporary' borders would become permanent ones. So rather than the whole 22% of their homeland that they would like, they settle 'temporarily' for 15% or so -- and it won't be the choicest 15%, we can be sure of that. 'Temporarily,' Israel will make sure she controls all the aquifers, for example. The Palestinians are ever going to move the Israelis out of what they've 'temporarily' acquired? Sure they are. Explain to me how Israel is going to feel compelled to do that. The fact of the matter is that if Israel had any wisdom at all, she would run, not walk, to give the Palestinians the whole 22% in exchange for their signature on the dotted line. The alternatives are (a) committing genocide against the Palestinian people (not gonna happen), (b) accepting a nondenominational single-state solution (works for me, but not exactly what Hertzl had in mind), or (c) continuing on a course that can only end with the destruction of Israel.

The following statements by Strenger is very insightful:"...the theological unconscious of the Middle East keeps interfering; somehow the belief that there is one, divinely sanctioned, absolute truth about reality that is held by one of the monotheistic religions keeps popping up...this intrusion of the theological domain into politics" The brilliant Canadian writer Margaret Atwood author of the novel "The Handmaiden's Tale", about a fundamentalist Christian theocracy taking power in the US, said in an interview that mixing the supernatural with politics is poison. This is the root of the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Did God give his beloved Israelites the land of Canaan as it says in the Torah? Are Jews an abomination to Allah as it says in the Qu'ran and so have no rightful home in the Middle East? Is the creation of Israel a sign that Jesus is coming back as it says in Revelations? How could anyone make peace with all this crazy static interfering with the process?

Why on earth would the Palestinains accept temporary borders? - that presumably wouldn't include Jerulsalem, the settlements, or the Jordan valley. They would know fine well that that is all they would get, the Israeli side would do as Lieberman suggests and kick the 'final status' negotiations 20 years down the road so that the process of Israelising Jerusalem would accelerate until the work was complete.

Most israelies want a two state solution. Israel has already withdraw from territories in exchange for peace and has dismantle settlements. Nothing new. Current disagreements are limited to 2 percent of the West Bank,the question of the refugees, and the Mount of the Temple. Those are tough questions, but have no relation whatsover with territorial expansionism and settlements.

Who's in charge in the Israeli government? Or is it just a free-for-all? My VP Joe Biden goes over there and they make him look like a chump. I don't like that. I don't appreciate it. I say my U.S. should cut off ALL aid to Israel until those folks get their shit straight and stop acting like high school political amateurs. What a bunch of morons. Robert S

Actually, there is a Palestinian state already, and it is called Jordan. But what Arabs want for themselves is three Palestines - Jordan, the ?New Palestine? that will arise on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and of course the Israeli Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians will continue to live in Israel and bring to themselves more and more Palestinian ?brothers? from around the world, so that in a decade or two the Jews will be a minority in their land; then Israel will also turn into Palestine. Over the years (with the Zionist settlement) the Arabs have adopted for themselves the Jewish ethos ? that is, the sanctity of Jerusalem and the Right of Return to Zion. And yet they built a mosque in the center of the Jewish Holy of Holies (a wide-spread Muslim custom in our world). But the Arabs? Holy City is Mecca and not Jerusalem, and they have the Right of Return only to their Arab homeland but not to Zion.

At this point, temporary borders are the most unrealistic solution of all. The begrudgers on our side will be rewarded by yet another postponement while, as Mr. Lincoln points out, no-one will be able to stop whatever government is in place from building where it likes on the pretext that the plan existed before the agreement on temporary borders. Mr. Strenger, your article started out promisingly. There is a dissonance between the religious aspirations and the political aspirations that needed to be pointed out to the seculars (the religious don't function on logic). Uri Avnery points out in his weekly piece that Israel is a state built on the biblical lands of the Palestinians, while the West Bank is actually the biblical land of the Jews. The state of Israel professes to be secular. It should knuckle down to reality and be made to negotiate with a clearly specified purpose. 1967 borders, division or sharing of Jerusalem is a generous settlement. Don't let them get mean.

"therapeutic diplomacy" sounds good to me. Join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. Civil dialogue and respectful debate pave the road to the future. Pax_101. Ultimately, peace is in everyone's interest.

Mark, most Israelis don't want a large Israel. Most Israelis don't care, and most Israelis don't want to loose what was already acquired. Although most of them never set an inch over the green line. The sad thing, is that life is difficult in Israel (not for security reason), lots of work, low salaries, lot of pressure, and everybody wants everything. Because of that there so busy with themselves that they simply don't care about what happens 30 km from where they are living.

For the last two decade the Israeli administration without exception has been playing the optical card of peace. It became a true show off game to blame the Palestinians for not willing to negotiate peace. All efforts have only been to corner Palestinians. Do you want us to believe that Israel would give up all financial assistance for being in a state of war to benefit its people with peace. Those are true apartheid administrations not having the interest of humanity at heart. Palestinians have been isolated long before the deadline 0f 2005 for a two state solution. Resolving this issue would be comparable to giving half America to the indians reservations. Obama did not know what he would be facing when he promised what he did. Wake up!!! The Israeli notion of peace is just the diplomatic strategy of convincing the world of failed trial. Poor, victimized, honorable peace seekers ;-)

stopping settlement expansion, removing incentives for housing in the West Bank, equal treatment of Palestinians and Settlers in the West Bank, allow Palestinians freedom of movement in the West Bank requiring settlers to compensate the Palestinians whose land was taken if they want to stay there, etc. If it becomes clear that Israel will not retain any or much of the West Bank, I think that many of the Settlers will voluntarily return to Israel.

..these will be the most difficult and thorny talks of all time. There will "fits and starts" along the way, but the parties should not back away form these talks. The USA has not been positioned to be the fair and even-handed broker of peace and to facilitate the peace process, since Taba and Pres Clinton. The process will be get uglier before clearity leads to a peace treaty.

want peace. Bibi didn?t run on peace platform and this coalition views it as HIV. The US knows it, the whole world knows it, those talks are just going through the motions to insure all has been exhausted and justify US backing with the Europeans the Fayyad plan for deceleration of PA State within the 67 borders, and let Israel deal with it from there.

You have to get your facts straight before you accuse Israel of being a Jewish theocracy. Non-Jewish Israeli citizens, and there are about 1.2 million of them, have all the same rights as Jewish citizens, including the right to vote. There are non-Jewish, Arab Members of Knesset, with equal voting rights in the government. Israel is a modern democracy. The only religious element to the Israel government is the fact that a Jew anywhere in the world has the right to come to Israel and automatically become a citizen with equal rights. This is somewhat akin to the idea that a Polish America or a Korean America can "return" to the country of their ancestors origin and claim certain rights. This is the great fear among Jews, both Israeli and non-Israeli; that in not so many years there will be more Arab citizens (especially if there is a one-state solution) and then Israel will be unable to continue as BOTH a Democracy AND a Jewish majority state. Get your FACTS straight!

...what you want about "moral simplicity," Mr. Strenger, but few can rationally deny that its got Linus's security blanket beat by a country mile.

still doesn't have peace ,as pals would proceed with presenting further demands. The "temporary Israeli" Stenger should know it but his zest for appeasement is gripping him by the throat and by the ba..s He just adopted the "hudna" ,a temporary peace after which the Infidels would be anihilated according to Mohammed

You can exchange two areas without people but you can not exchange two areas with people. Maybe you can dislodge 2 000 people, but not 20 000 people and surely not 1/4 of a million people. According to 2009 governmental statistics, 5% of the Israelis are settlers. No homes, no jobs, no schools ...for at least 3-5 years. In a democracy, the votes of a quarter million citizens count very heavily. No wonder, no government in Israel can afford the 67 borders.

It appears that, Israel is not honest or serious when discussing peace initiatives with Palestinians. There seems to be quite a bit of "gaming" that shows a lack of honesty and intent. I no longer feel that Israel deserves perpetual support from the U.S. when it does not act honestly... I have supported Israel's right to exist in the past and still do. I do not support Israel's right to slowly encroach upon the lands of its neighbors no matter how thise lands came under Israeli control....

The big reason is that any 'pal' entity between Israel and the Jordan,will turn into an iranian base the next day its formed...Unless the State wants to commit collective suicide,let the 'pal' state be EAST OF THE JORDAN

"But even this modest, skeptical and realistic approach should not blind us to one simple fact: Israel will not be able to continue its policy of dispossession on Palestinian land, whether in East Jerusalem or other areas of the West-Bank." Huh? The evidence that "one simple fact" had any currency amongst the Israeli leadership is sadly absent, in fact the machinations of the past few days suggest something completely opposite. Unless, that is, the author believe that the US reaction to the leadership's crude maneuvers effected a spontaneous paradigm shift of enormous proportions! But that would suggest a naivety of enormous proportions - let's hope the author was just getting a little sloppy at the end of an otherwise (mostly) sensible article, desiring a somewhat optimistic ending, the reality after all is a downer.

Any Israeli excuses of security issues, or Arabs not accepting Israel's existence, etc...are rendered mute by the simple fact that Israel has America on her side and a decided advantage in military prowess. Israel is dragging its feet and trying to sabatage Obama's efforts simply because Israel wants the LAND more than it wants peace and Israel doesn't care if non Jews live as second class citizens. He he holds the power should receive the lion's share of the blame. It is up to Jews to wake up and force Israel to behave like an enlightened nation that strives for peace in its neighborhood. Shalom Salaam Peace....

"But even this modest, skeptical and realistic approach should not blind us to one simple fact: Israel will not be able to continue its policy of dispossession on Palestinian land, whether in East Jerusalem or other areas of the West-Bank." - Carlo Strenger And who is going to stop it? Certainly not Israelis. Most Israelis seem to agree with the goal of Greater Israel. I understand that there are many Israelis that don't like what is happening, but they do not control the nation and have not for many decades.

Netanyahu's administration is interested in the optics of appearing cooperative with US peace efforts, but is not interested in actual negotiations.

I am confused regarding Isreal's intent regarding it's desire to resemble a Democracy while limiting it's voters to the Jewish religion. How can Israel claim to be a Democracy when it wants to be All-Jewish? Democracy's are open societies. If the majority becomes tyrannical, as De Tocqueville warned, the experiment fails. All-Jewish is, simply, racist. Israel does not have a Constitution for a reason. The Old Testament is supposed to be the Constitution. Please help me understand why I think that Israel is a racist state for wanting to be "all-jewish." And please don't think it's anti-semitic. Perhaps I should ask this.... If the United States decided that it was going to become an All-Christian State, or all-white, or all Muslim, would we still be a Democracy? How do you reconcile the desire to be a racist state with the ideals of Democracy?