The Peaceful Option

　　Renewed peace talks between Palestine and Israel are in everybody’s bestinterest

　　The efforts of U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry to facilitate peace betweenPalestine and Israel have paid off—somewhat， at least. After the top U.S. diplomat’ssix mediation trips to the Middle East within halfa year， peace talks were finally resumed on July29 in Washington D.C.， after being suspendedin October 2010 due to Israel’s expansion ofsettlement activities on occupied Palestinianlands.

　　During their meetings， which Kerrydescribed as “constructive” and “positive，”Palestinian and Israeli negotiators agreedthat substantial talks would be held inthe next two weeks， either in Israel or thePalestinian territories. They also pledged toreach a “final-status” agreement over thenext nine months.

　　The political structure and geostrategicmap of the Middle East have changed dramaticallyin recent years. Observers said it is the righttime to promote Palestinian-Israeli dialogue asit meets the needs of all parties. However， asleaders from both sides refused concessions onthorny issues including boundary determinationand the construction of Jewish settlements，prospects for this new round of talks are not toooptimistic.

　　The moment

　　Nearly three years have passed sincePalestinians and Israelis held their last peacenegotiations. The renewal of the talks canbe credited first to the new U.S. secretary ofstate. Unlike his predecessor Hillary Clinton，Kerry shifted U.S. diplomatic attention backto the Middle East from the Asia-Pacific region.In the meantime， observers claimedthe changing political situation in the MiddleEast is a more important factor in restartingthe talks.

　　Theturmoil in neighboring Arab countriesfurther worsened the security conditions of Israel， while its tough stance on the Palestinianissue in recent years has isolated Israel in theinternational community， said Liu Baolai， formerChinese Ambassador to Jordan.

　　The so-called “Arab Spring” did not improveIsrael’s geopolitical standing. Anti-Israeli sentimentcontinued to flare in Arab countries alongwith the regional turmoil.

　　The EU on July 19 proposed new guidelinesfor how it would do business withIsrael. The guidelines require the EU and itsmembers to cease any joint activity or fundingwith Israeli entities in the West Bank， inEast Jerusalem， or in the Golan Heights from2014. The EU holds that those territories arenot part of Israel.

　　Palestine’s upgrade to a UN observer statelast November put additional pressure on Israelat the international level.

　　He Wenping， a researcher with the ChineseAcademy of Social Sciences (CASS)， said withthe annual UN General Assembly in Septemberdrawing near， both the United States and Israelworry that Palestine might take more steps in the UN to appeal for the international communityto press Israel if it doesn’t restart peacetalks.

　　For Israel， returning to the table on onehand can enhance its natural alliance with theUnited States； on the other hand， it can easepressure from the international community.In addition， resuming talks shows a gesture ofgoodwill to help stabilize relations with Palestineand improve its security situation.

　　For Palestine， Liu said， incumbentPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been dedicated to peace talks and the foundingof an independent Palestine with territorialintegrity all along.

　　With regional turmoil raging， the Palestinianissue was nearly marginalized. Abbas hopes tomake substantial progress in the Middle Eastpeace process through the resumption of talksby the end of his term， Liu added.

　　Yin Gang， a senior researcher on Middle Eaststudies with the CASS， claimed that Washingtonbelieves it is the right time to promote talksas Palestine cannot get much support fromregional countries amid ongoing turbulence inthe region.

　　Syria cannot presently assist Palestine asBashar al-Assad’s regime is mired in civil war，and Iran’s influence on the issue is also weakening，Yin said.

　　The currentpolitical situation and geostrategicmap are so different from those of threeyears ago. After the “Arab Spring，” many politicalstrongmen in the Arab world stepped down.Divergence within the Arab world is widening，and it is far more difficult to form a joint forcebacking Palestinians.

　　U.S.calculations

　　The Middle East turbulence since 2011 has profoundlyaffected the United States’ influence inthe region as well as the security environmentof its ally， Israel.

　　Zhao Jianming， a researcher with theInstitute of International Relations at theShanghai Academy of Social Sciences，noted that regime changes in some of thecountries have resulted in the decline ofWashington’s control over the region. TheMiddle East turmoil has directly threatenedthe Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and the Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty， two of Israel’s mostimportant security guarantees.

　　If conflict between Palestine and Israelbroke out again， it would be like adding fuel tothe regional flames that even the United Statescould not put out， Zhao said.

　　Anadditional point Washington mustacknowledge is that if it doesn’t promote thepeaceful and comprehensive resolution of thePalestinian-Israeli conflict， the piece of landwould remain a hotbed for extremism and anti-Americanism， permanently threatening thenational security and world leader status of the United States.

　　Besides the sense of crisis， observers said，Washington’s efforts meet its political needs.

　　Liu said facilitating peace talks would reconfirmthe dominant position of the United Stateson the Middle East issue. In the last 22 years，Washington has been the dominant leaderof Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

　　In addition， Liu said， while promotingPalestinian-Israeli peace talks could help improvethe image of the United States in theregion， it could also isolate its old enemy Iran，reducing the latter’s voice on the issue.

　　However， acting as a peacemaker is noteasy. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has gone onfor more than half a century. It involves multiplecomplex facets including religion， ethnicity， sovereigntyas well as territory.

　　Another problem， He said， is thatPalestinians and Israelis are divided internally onhow to engage in talks. Doves and hawks coexistin the Israeli parliament and public. Likewise，the hard-line Islamic Hamas movement and themoderate Palestinian National Authority coexistin Palestine.

　　Before the talks resume， the Palestinianside reiterated several preconditions includingIsrael’s freeing of Palestinians jailed before 1993，freezing settlements on occupied Palestinianlands and negotiating on the basis of the 1967 border.

　　Though Israel released 82 Palestinianprisoners as a gesture ahead of the talks，Netanyahu refused to freeze Jewish settlementsor negotiate on the basis of the 1967 border ina public letter to the Israeli people.

　　However， Liu said， the resumption of directpeace talks is worth cherishing in spite of thedifficulties. The United States， which has an importantinfluence on the peace process， shouldplay a fair role in the talks.

　　Forthe sake of future generations and theprosperity of the Middle East， the leaders ofIsrael and Palestine have no choice but to shakehands， said He.

　　Relevant UN resolutions and the land-forpeaceprinciple are the basis to fundamentallysolve the issue， the researcher added.

　　By Yu Lintao