When President Obama first entered the presidency, great expectations had been raised by the campaign catchwords of “hope and change”. One of the US policy areas this extended to was the Palestinian/Israeli peace process: in 2010, Obama said that a Palestinian state was a realistic goal within a year.
In practice, that objective is no closer today than it was in 2008, and arguably is further away. So, is there any real chance now of serious peace negotiations? And can Obama be helpful in restarting the peace process?
Ask the people concerned – Israelis and Palestinians – and the answer is no, on both counts. [cont.]
Harry Enten, The Guardian
Recent polls: Israel & the Palestinians