Another promise broken

So, Jared Kushner's meeting with Abbas was "tense", and when he gives his report to his father-in-law, Trump may decide to abandon Mideast peace talks.

I'm shocked, just shocked, I tell you.  I mean, who knew that peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians could be so difficult to achieve?

(Um, Hillary Clinton knew...a First Lady who was present when Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat were brought together at the White House...a Secretary of State who negotiated a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas...but I digress.)

Fifty years after the Six Day War,  the West Bank situation is reaching critical mass.  There are only two options:  create a Palestinian State on the West Bank, or grant the inhabitants of the West Bank full Israeli citizenship,

But the Palestinian population of the West Bank, as well as the Israeli Arab population, is large, and growing.  The Arab population will eventually outnumber the Jewish population, and Israel as a uniquely Jewish state would cease to exist.

But a West Bank State of Palestine poses security risks for Israel -- after all, look what happened when Israel pulled out of Gaza and Hamas took over.

Arafat never quite shook off the "terrorist" image, but Abbas has taken great pains to appear to be a statesman representing the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.  How long will it be before the UN and the countries of Europe force a solution to the problem?  Israel, a country created by UN fiat, has no moral standing to object to the UN taking similar action on the West Bank.  If Israel does not participate in such negotiations, a solution will be imposed without addressing Israel's concerns.

Bibi Netanyahu, who holds a majority in the Knesset by a single seat, mouths platitudes about the Two State Solution, then authorizes additional Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

And where is the US these days?  While Nikki Haley tells the UN that US policy on the Middle East has not changed, that we support our ally Israel and want to work towards a peaceful solution, the White House...well....I think the current occupant of the White House is poised to enrage both sides.

He said there was no daylight between the US and Israel, and promised to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, then broke that promise.   He was the only President to visit the Western Wall while in office, but refused to bring Bibi along because "that's not your territory".  He compromised an Israeli intelligence officer by sharing Israeli classified information with the Russians.

Then there was the shouting match with Abbas.  And the demands Kushner brought to Ramallah read like Bibi's wish list.

Like everything else he touches, the "Great Negotiator" has really mucked this one up.  He's in over his head, as usual, and the only way to salvage the situation is to withdraw...