Peace Process

The Palestinian Authority may have avoided an immediate, devastating crisis following Israel's recent decision to resume the transfer of tax revenues, but the failure of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the unwillingness of the PA to exercise representative good governance, have created a dynamic that will continue to erode the

To avoid a full-blown diplomatic collision, Obama will have to urgently address concerns about the Iranian nuclear deal, while Netanyahu will need to publicly declare a two-state-minded policy on Israeli settlements.

Forces both within and beyond the prime minister's control have led to his shaky standing.

On February 23, Jonathan Rynhold and Elliott Abrams addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Rynhold is a senior researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), director of the Argov Center for the Study of Israel and the Jewish People, and author of the just-released book The

Greater Sunni acceptance of Israel as a regional power, however grudging and conditional, may give Washington more room to pursue longstanding peace goals.

The two countries have worked to insulate their innumerable daily interactions from inevitable bumps in the diplomatic relationship, but the current regional turmoil calls for a more clear-eyed acknowledgement of their shared interests, especially regarding Iran.

On January 29, Ghaith al-Omari, Dennis Ross, and David Makovsky addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, recently returned from a regional trip that included meetings with high-level Israeli and Palestinian officials. Omari is a senior fellow at the

Although the prospect of the ICC actually prosecuting Israeli officials is uncertain at best, the PA has torpedoed any chances for near-term diplomacy merely by opening that door, and perhaps invited U.S. financial countermeasures as well.

Conversations with Palestinian, Israeli, and international officials indicate that the simmering stalemate between Hamas and Fatah will not end well.