Pence’s trip fails to revive peace hope

Palestinian authorities reject any US role for plans in the Middle East

WASHINGTON — US VicePresident Mike Pence’s fiveday visit to the Middle East has ended without results, dogged by President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that triggered widespread protests.

Pence’s trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel, aiming to mend relations with allies and promoting peace talks between Israel and Palestine, turned out to be bumpy, especially at the first two stops, where leaders of the Arab world sharply criticized Trump’s Jerusalem move.

Following his talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday, Pence said the Egyptian leader described his objection to Trump’s decision as a “disagreement between friends”.

However, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement that Sisi noted that negotiations based on a two-state solution alone could end the conflict.

The two-state solution envisions an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital alongside Israel.

The Palestine Liberation Organization announced on Wednesday its rejection to any US peace initiatives unless Washington retracts its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“The Americans can no longer serve as an honest broker in the negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel after its illegal declaration of Jerusalem,” Secretary General of the Executive Committee of PLO Saeb Erekat said.

The changed US recognition of Israel’s capital is a dramatic change in the status quo and people in the Middle East understood that, Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West said. “Nothing the vice-president can say will alter that belief. It will be harder for the US to be seen as a fair arbiter there.”

Wayne White, a policy expert at the Middle East Institute and former State Department official, said the Jerusalem disagreement has struck at the heart of American-Arab relations.

During his stay in Israel, the last leg of his trip and where he seemed most at ease, Pence announced that the US will open its embassy in Jerusalem before the end of next year.

Although he said the decision to move the embassy was made in the best interests of peace, it was difficult to see how it could improve ties between Israel and Palestine.

It is hard to see a path forward to peace given the antagonisms in that region, West said. Most US leaders are “playing to their bases and (are) not interested in the Middle East peace process,” he added.

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