Can Biden Improve Prospects for Mideast Peace?
A compelling vision might move Israelis and Palestinians to try a new approach.
By Walter Russell Mead
The Wall Street Journal
August 5, 2024
"...Progress toward peace requires a change in approach. For Israelis to believe in peace, they must see among Palestinians a new consensus for peace, or at least the beginnings of one. For that kind of consensus to emerge, Palestinians would need to see realistic proposals for a two-state solution that respects their dignity and responds to their needs...
“Real peace would include compensation funds for the descendants of both Arabs and Jews displaced during and after Israel’s war of independence. Instead of dribbling out refugee “relief” payments forever through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the world could fund a lasting solution to the problem of Palestinian dispossession...
“Peace would also mean that every Palestinian, including those in Syria and Lebanon, would be able to obtain an internationally recognized passport with full citizenship rights...
“Final-stage negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians will never be easy, and drawing lines on maps that both sides will accept will likely be the hardest and last task negotiators take on. But promoting pro-peace sentiment on both sides by making peace look attractive and realistic is something that America, along with like-minded Gulf Arabs and others, could actually accomplish...
“Israelis and Palestinians alike need to become less “battle-minded” if peace is to come to the Middle East. Washington can’t change the way people think, but it can give people something new to think about. A compelling vision for peace that makes sense to majorities of Israelis and Palestinians would be a good place to start. Developing and publicizing that vision would be a good use of Team Biden’s remaining months in office.”
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