The Obama administration yesterday desperately tried to salvage the Israeli−Palestinian peace process, calling for a 60−day extension of the Israeli settlement construction freeze that expired on Sunday. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may rebuff the administration's plea, President Barack Obama must stand strong and continue to oppose the expansion of Israeli settlements. Failure to do so will likely mark the death knell of current Middle East peace negotiations — a threat to American national security and our nation's strategic interests in the region.
While settlement construction is by no means the only issue that could potentially cause the talks to break down — and is certainly not the most important facet of the conflict — its continuation in an unrestrained manner would make progress in the negotiations next to impossible. By unwisely placing so much emphasis on the settlement issue from the start, the Obama administration has unwisely boxed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas into a domestic political position that has threatened to make him look weak if he budges too far from the United States' original demands of the Israelis. It seems unlikely that the Palestinians will remain at the negotiation table if Israel resumes construction in an unrestricted manner on the land they hope will eventually form part of a Palestinian state.
Despite the recent impasse, Abbas has smartly agreed to stay in the peace talks and has given Israel until Oct. 4 to halt expansion. He should continue to compromise with the Israelis and should resist taking stances that might bolster his domestic popularity but limit his flexibility later on.
Like Abbas, Netanyahu has also found himself in a difficult political position as he faces a great deal of pressure from his right−wing coalition to continue settlement construction. But last year when he faced similar pressure to impose the freeze in the first place, he was able to finagle a deal through his coalition. Although he promised the just−expired moratorium would be a one−time measure to get talks rolling, he may still have some political wiggle room. Even if a new freeze was more limited than the last, it could still conceivably appease the Palestinians — at least temporarily.
By not flexing his political muscle and acting in Israel's long−term interests, Netanyahu is giving the clearest sign of his lack of resolve — and essentially permitting the downfall of the floundering peace process.
"One of the great myths of Middle East diplomacy is the old cliché that ‘the United States can't want it more than the parties do,'" Stephen Walt wrote in Foreign Policy this week. Even though the United States certainly does not have more riding on the peace process than the Israelis and Palestinians do, a resolution of the conflict is in our national security interests. Obama and American military leaders like Gen. David Petraus have indicated as such, and the president has made finding a peaceful solution a national security imperative.
While the United States does not have to want peace more than the parties do, sometimes it must be the one to show the most political determination. Obama must actively compel Netanyahu to extend the moratorium on settlements in some manifestation, and he must continue to encourage Abbas to compromise. Otherwise, the peace process is likely to crumble once again.
