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Analysis

The Telegraph: Can the peace talks get back on track? by Prof Alan Johnson

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Seven impressions of the faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace process

A week in Israel talking to policy experts, including some close to the peace talks, left me with these impressions.

1. To single out just one element of the negotiations or settlements as the cause of the breakdown is simplistic.

At the point of breakdown, the Palestinians would not commit to more talks until the fourth and final tranche of a series of prisoner releases agreed in July 2013 was carried out. Israel sought a commitment from the Palestinians to extend the talks and seek a broader deal before releasing them, so as not to find itself in a situation where it was confronted by the PA in international forums, including at the ICC, a short while after releasing the prisoners. There was a standoff. The Israeli government was ready to convene to vote on a deal to end the standoff, and was ready to significantly limit settlement activities if an extension to the talks was agreed. But the Israeli Prime Minister would not fight for a cabinet majority and secure an actual vote without a clear Palestinian commitment to continuing talks. That was the moment that Abbas signed his 15 applications to international bodies and covenants.

These were an acutely complex set of negotiations, with three actors, multiple issues – and all parties made mistakes. Can we say that if Israel had agreed to a settlement freeze we’d now have a final status agreement? No. That is not serious.

Read the article in full at The Telegraph.