Distracted by the Israel-Palestine “Peace Process”: What Really Happened during the Talks | Global Research

Distracted by the Israel-Palestine “Peace Process”: What Really Happened during the Talks | Global Research

There was a
mad scramble by Washington last week to prevent the seemingly inevitable
– an implosion of the Middle East peace talks. In a last-ditch effort
to stop Israel reneging on a promise to release a final batch of
Palestinian prisoners, the US briefly threw in possibly the biggest
bargaining chip in its hand: the release of Israeli spy Jonathan
Pollard.

 With Israel
still dragging its feet, an infuriated Palestinian president Mahmoud
Abbas submitted applications to join 15 United Nations conventions,
thereby reviving a campaign to win international recognition of
Palestinian statehood.

Although Washington will continue quietly
arm-twisting the two sides a little longer, President Barack Obama is
reported to be worried that US diplomacy is starting to appear
“desperate”.

 The
negotiations’ failure could prove an important clarifying moment,
signalling the effective demise of the two-state solution.

 Both the US
and Israel have come to rely on the endless theatrics of the two-decade
peace process. Settlement freezes, prisoner releases, rows about
Palestinian Authority funding and, of course, intermittent negotiations
have served as useful distractions from the main developments on the
ground.