Attentive
But politicians were attentive nonetheless and at times even gushing. Many in both Riyadh and Jerusalem seemed inclined to view Trump as stronger than Obama, and to welcome a realpolitik devoid of pesky humanitarian concerns.
The subtext seemed to be: reserve judgment and handle with caution. Here’s a look at where things stand: Question: What is the current situation on the ground?
Answer: The Palestinian Authority, an autonomy government negotiated in the 1990s, controls pockets where most West Bank Palestinians live but which amount to less than 40 percent of the land. It also has lost control of the seaside Gaza Strip, which since 2005 has been free of Israeli troops and settlers, to Hamas militants.
Gaza is blockaded from the sea and air by Israel and its land borders are sealed and controlled by Israel and Egypt. Israel also controls entry and exit to the West Bank and travel within it, and the Palestinians there cannot vote in Israeli elections although Jewish settlers can.
Q: What are these widely envisioned contours of Israeli-Palestinian peace?
A: Peace efforts since 2000 were based on the same foundation: a Palestinian state in all of Gaza and the vast majority of the West Bank. Israel would keep some West Bank areas which contain most of its settlers and swap these for land in Israel proper. There was to be some sharing of Jerusalem. Palestinian refugees and their descendants could move to Palestine, but generally not to Israel, in order to retain its Jewish majority. It was generally assumed Israel would remove any settlers who live too deep inside the West Bank to be easily incorporated into Israel within a redrawn border — perhaps 100,000 of them. Q: Why has no final peace deal been achieved? A: Israel’s maximal offer never quite touched the Palestinians’ minimal demands. For one thing, dividing Jerusalem proved too difficult, considering Israel and Palestine will need a border but everyone wants the city to be open. The Palestinians, despite winks and nods, never formally renounced a refugees’ demand to return to long lost properties, a non-starter for Israel. Continued Israeli settlement construction and occasional Palestinian violence further eroded trust. Q: Where does the Arab world stand? A: Egypt and Jordan have formal peace treaties with Israel and at least on the security front have increasingly tight relations. In recent years quiet cooperation has developed especially on the intelligence front with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states — Sunni Muslim nations who like Israel see a threatening rival in the Shiite theocracy of Iran.
The Arab League recently reaffirmed a 15-yearold offer of regional peace in exchange for a total Israeli pullout from occupied lands. But bringing relations into the open has been contingent on the elusive Israeli-Palestinian deal.
Part of the complication is the deep resonance for Muslims of Jerusalem, home to the religion’s holiest sites after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.