Obama, Netanyahu, and the meaninglessness of it all
POWERLINE
By Paul
David Hazony has noticed something about the current Middle East "peace" negotiations -- they aren't between the parties. The parties, of course, are Israel and the Palestinians. But there can be no talks with the Palestinians because they are split, perhaps irreconcilably, split between Hamas and the PA. So instead, the current negotiations are between Israel and the U.S.
If Israel were negotiating with the Palestinians, both sides would be seeking concessions regarding Israeli-Palestinian issues. The Israelis would be asking the Palestinians to give up the right of return, for example.
But Israel cannot seek such concessions from Obama because they are not for the U.S. to grant. As a result, the negotiations are meaningless insofar as the the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is concerned.
There is one issue as to which Obama has something to offer Israel, and that is Iran. It is conceivable that Israel would negotiate against itself, in effect, regarding Israeli-Palestinian issues in exchange for action by the U.S. that would put an end to Iran's nuclear theat. But, so far as appears, Obama is unwilling to offer Israel anything meaningful along these lines.
For the time being, then, we seem to be at a dead-end. |
