Coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians is inevitable and, short of catastrophic developments, the two peoples are doomed or destined to live between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River.
President Obama should seek a UN resolution that reflects his own conviction of a two-state solution for the two peoples
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the Palestinians recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state, his policies encourage a mass exodus of Jewish Israelis from the country. Today, the notion of a Jewish refuge in the land of Israel is greatly at risk. Much has been made of what former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert once called a "demographic time bomb," with the Palestinian birthrate soon to have the number of Palestinians exceed that of Israelis between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Yet Palestinian demographics aside, more Israelis are living abroad than ever, and many Israeli residents are eager to join them.
Israel and Hamas are currently locked in a perpetual standoff. Hamas is emboldened by the flurry of international attention on the situation in Gaza, despite the improved conditions following the ease of the blockade by Israel after the first flotilla episode and Egypt's opening of the border crossing.
On the surface, the current stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems illogical. After all, each side knows, with the exception of the Netanyahu government, that the basic framework of a negotiated settlement: a two-state solution based on the 1967 border with land swaps that keep the major settlement blocs inside Israel proper.
The fact that Israeli and Turkish officials have begun to renew dialogue at a time of significant uncertainty and turmoil in the broader Middle East is, of course, no coincidence. Israel and Turkey are rare anchors of stability in an increasingly volatile region.
It has become clear that Assad has made his choice. With over 1,400 Syrians killed, more than 10,000 fleeing the country, and as many languishing in jail, it is too late for Assad to redeem himself. And yet, the international community remains feeble, doing nothing about it. Without meaningful action, Assad is likely to seek dangerous and desperate measures to maintain power, and Syria could become engulfed in the kind of prolonged, internecine sectarian violence that serves as a gaping pattern of instability affecting the entire region.
In 1973, Israel’s Foreign Minister Abba Eban famously stated that "Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Today, however, this phrase is more aptly attributable to Israelis than to the Palestinians.
The study of conflict resolution is prefaced on the notion that two parties in conflict desire a mutually acceptable resolution to end their dispute, however intractable it may be. The behavior by Israel and the Palestinians, however, suggests a different desired outcome. Whereas both talk about their desire to make peace, their actual actions on the ground demonstrate differently. Today, Israelis and Palestinians alike are defying essential principles of conflict resolution, serving to prolong, rather than conclude their festering conflict.