Home pagePress CenterIn the Media Haim Malka, deputy director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, appeared as a guest analyst for "Post Global" at washingtonpost.com.
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Haim Malka, deputy director of the Middle East Program at CSIS, appeared as a guest analyst for "Post Global" at washingtonpost.com.
Let’s stop fooling ourselves. No number of meetings between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will blossom into full-fledged negotiations. The U.S. strategy is to hold talks so Palestinians can begin to imagine what a final agreement might look like. Yet the two leaders are too weak, and their politics too complicated, to contemplate making even symbolic concessions on long-term outcomes. Jerusalem, refugees, and territory will not be the carrots to lead this process forward. Instead, they will be the poison that dooms any opportunity for progress.
Rather than dance around a comprehensive resolution to this conflict, the United States should encourage Israelis and Palestinians to take practical steps that can lead to a significant Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and a non-violent phase of mutual existence. It’s not peace, but it’s better than more violence and conflict.
There are enough indicators to suggest that such an arrangement is attainable. Polling consistently suggests that Israelis and Palestinians want out of this conflict. To that end, a majority of Israelis favor a withdrawal from the West Bank and they voted for Prime Minister Olmert based on his promises to do so. Palestinians also want to improve their lives, and despite electing Hamas in the January 2006 elections, a solid majority favors a ceasefire and negotiations.
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