Off the Table

While packaged as a triumph, the rollout of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is in fact more of a relief, given the circuitous path required to arrive at the talks. Convinced of the need for a U.S. role that was at once more activist and yet more dispassionate, President Barack Obama's administration committed a series of early diplomatic miscues that strained U.S. relations with both Israelis and Palestinians, and likely delayed the onset of direct negotiations. The legacy of those early errors -- the Sept. 26 expiration (or perhaps extension) of Israel's settlement moratorium -- continues to hang as a dark cloud over the fledgling peace process.

In light of the experience of the last 18 months, therefore, it is prudent to use the commencement of "direct talks" not only to revisit the negotiating issues themselves, but also to reassess the U.S. role in the negotiations.

The notion of the United States as a mediator or "honest broker" in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process conjures up images such as those from the Camp David summit in 2000 -- U.S. negotiators sitting alongside Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, sleeves rolled up and poring over draft agreements, cups of coffee close at hand. More frequently, however, serious Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have taken place without Americans or any other mediators in the room. This was the case for much of the Oslo process in the 1990s, as well as during the talks that followed the Annapolis conference in 2007, which were launched under U.S. auspices but conducted largely bilaterally between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

That Israelis and Palestinians can manage to negotiate with one another without American participation should not be surprising -- by this point, the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians (between 55 and 62 percent of Palestinians, according to recent polls) believe in the necessity of a negotiated agreement, and successive Israeli and Palestinian leaders alike have engaged in one form of talks or another. Both are, to varying extents, judged domestically and internationally on their ability to conduct a credible peace process.

However, though direct talks are necessary to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they are not sufficient. Negotiations are not just about what happens at the table, but also what occurs away from the table. Neglect of "away from the table" issues -- getting the context and the process right -- will sink a negotiation, but the failure will be blamed on the more visible manifestation of the negotiations, the "at the table" talks. The result is a cynicism regarding peace talks that is evident today among both Israelis and Palestinians.

In these specific negotiations -- given the veritable library of peace plans and ideas for compromise on the core issues that negotiators will have to draw upon -- what happens away from the table might arguably be more important than the "at the table" talks. Although the United States will surely have some role to play during the negotiations themselves -- whether offering bridging proposals, serving as a sounding board or scapegoat, or otherwise stepping in to aid or pressure the negotiators -- it is away from the table where Washington can make the biggest difference.

There are a number of steps that Washington can take away from the negotiating table to boost the talks' prospects for success. One vital factor contributing to their success will be the domestic positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who to some extent have staked their political fortunes on the negotiations and will be vulnerable to criticism at home. The United States can bolster both men through steps to strengthen their hands domestically and by avoiding actions that risk weakening them. With respect to Israel, for example, Washington should deepen cooperation with the country on regional security challenges to avoid the impression that these have been subordinated to the peace talks. U.S.-Israel disagreements such as those that erupted last year over settlements should first be addressed through quiet diplomacy rather than public recriminations.

With respect to the Palestinians, the United States can strengthen Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad through direct budgetary support and by studiously avoiding any outreach to Hamas, which rejects Abbas's authority and violently opposes the peace process.

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NORBOOSE

12:06 PM ET

September 2, 2010

Too much outside influence

There is just too much outside influence, both in the form of world opinion (The muslim and particularly the Arab world, as well as US evangelicals) and in the form of government involvement (US, Iran, many others) for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be solved inside of Israel and Palestine. Outside actors dont need to back off from their maximal goals, often they need to maintain them for domestic political reasons. Its not like some Star-Trek thing, where you just need to teach the sides tolerance. Untill the pervasive influences of the outside world are removed or diluted from the conflict somehow, talks between Israel and Palestine are hopeless.

JKLAIRWIN

6:35 PM ET

September 3, 2010

Are you serious?

Singh suggests that things will be better if we: 1) Give Israel (Likud) everything it wants with no conditions, 2) Prop up the illegal, unelected, widely unpopular, Quisling, Abbas, and 3) Totally ignore the lawfully, democratically elected Hamas government of Palestine. With people who think like this actually allowed to sit on the NSC, no wonder we are in the mess we are in. No wonder there is no progress and the colonization of Palestine continues unabated and even encouraged by the US government.

DANIELLA

10:04 AM ET

September 30, 2010

The arabs arent occupants,

The arabs arent occupants, they were there first.
And don't try and pull this shit? that the jews were kicked out of Judeau so its there's. That was 2000 years ago. Israeli's occupy Palestine. They should leave, the minute American stops supporting liga 1 that terrorist state its dead!

REM686

11:07 AM ET

October 1, 2010

Off the Table

As Israelis and Palestinians sit down for direct talks for the first time in two years, it's what happens outside the negotiating room that matters most. There is just too much outside influence, both in the form of world opinion (The muslim and particularly the Arab world, as well as US evangelicals) and in the form of government involvement (US, Iran, many others) for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be solved inside of Israel and Palestine. Outside actors dont need to back off from their maximal goals, often they need to maintain them for domestic political reasons. Its not like some Star-Trek thing, where you just need to teach the sides tolerance. "While packaged as a triumph, the rollout of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is in fact more of a relief, given the circuitous path required to arrive at the talks. Convinced of the need for a U. S. role that was at once more activist and yet more dispassionate, President Barack Obama's administration committed a series of early diplomatic miscues that strained U. S fertility treatment. relations with both Israelis and Palestinians, and likely delayed the onset of direct negotiations. The legacy of those early errors -- the Sept. 26 expiration (or perhaps extension) of Israel's settlement moratorium -- continues to hang as a dark cloud over the fledgling peace process. " Outside actors dont need to back off from their maximal goals, often they need to maintain them for domestic political reasons. Its not like some Star-Trek thing, where you just need to teach the sides tolerance. Untill the pervasive influences of the outside world are removed or diluted from the conflict somehow, talks between Israel and Palestine are hopeless.

MARLA NEWMAN

1:18 PM ET

As Israelis and Palestinians sit down for direct talks for the first time in two years, it's what happens outside the negotiating room that matters most. The arabs arent occupants, they were there first. And don't try and pull this shit? that the jews were kicked out of Judeau so its there's. That was 2000 years ago. "However, though direct talks are necessary to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they are not sufficient. Negotiations are not just about what happens at the table, but also what occurs away from the table. Neglect of "away from the table" issues -- getting the context and the process right -- will sink a negotiation, but the failure will be blamed on the more visible manifestation of the negotiations, the "at the table" talks how to make rap beats. The result is a cynicism regarding peace talks that is evident today among both Israelis and Palestinians. " Outside actors dont need to back off from their maximal goals, often they need to maintain them for domestic political reasons. Its not like some Star-Trek thing, where you just need to teach the sides tolerance. Untill the pervasive influences of the outside world are removed or diluted from the conflict somehow, talks between Israel and Palestine are hopeless.

Foreign Policy Magazine

As Israelis and Palestinians sit down for direct talks for the first time in two years, it's what happens outside the negotiating room that matters most.

BY MICHAEL SINGH | SEPTEMBER 2, 2010

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