What’s needed for Israel, Palestine to have peace talks?
Negotiations have proved tricky for U.S. presidents in the past
@orendorell USA TODAY WASHINGTON President Trump ended his visit to the Middle East saying peace between Israelis and Palestinians is possible and promising “to do everything I can” to bring it about.
U.S. presidents have tried and failed for decades to fashion an agreement to end the conflict that has persisted since Israel was founded in 1948, including calls for a two-state solution.
The goal of creating an independent Palestinian state existing peacefully alongside Israel has been embraced by past Democratic and Republican administrations and the United Nations.
But the path for peace has been marred by terrorism, wars and a growing Israeli presence in areas Palestinians want for a homeland.
Here are some options for getting both sides to the negotiating table, including some that Trump hopes would sweeten the deal:
Israel could signal a willingness to deal with Palestinians by freezing settlement construction, a demand for years by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Prior to Trump’s visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would stop expanding the footprint of Israeli communities on land Palestinians want for a future state. The decision still allows for construction that adds to the density of existing buildings and allows for the Jewish population in those areas.
Abbas could signal a willingness to compromise by accepting an Israeli demand that he end payments to families of convicted terrorists in Israeli prisons and to relatives of people killed while carrying out attacks against Israelis.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, considers the payments salaries or welfare. Ending them could hurt Abbas politically, said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
A theme of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel was a pledge to work more closely to roll back Iran’s aggression in Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
That could help the peace process because it would provide Israel and Arab states with greater security, and the Arabs could offer Israel economic incentives and push the Palestinians to the negotiating table, Schanzer said.
Some analysts say new Palestinian or Israeli leadership might be needed before peace talks can happen.
Gaza is controlled by the militant group Hamas, which “is a huge obstacle to peace,” as is Abbas’ legitimacy as president of the Palestinian Authority, 12 years into what’s supposed to be a fiveyear term, Schanzer said.
Miller said Israel’s Netanyahu does not see his legacy as the leader who would divide Jerusalem or give back territory. Trump’s unconventional approach to politics and deal-making might go a long way to get talks going, some analysts said.
“In the end, these countries are looking for American leadership” before they take a leap toward peace, said Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “You’re asking them to take a big risk, and they would do it if they had confidence of what’s on the other side.”
Israeli leaders “are clearly in love with him,” said Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. And Palestinians listening to Trump in Jerusalem heard none of his campaign promises that had worried them, he said.