The real question is what Israel really wants, and how it will interpret the State Department’s announcement
With bribery charges pending against Prime Minister Netanyahu and a third election looming in March, Israel’s politics are in a state of flux. It’s hard to see a functioning government in Israel before May 2020. And six months before a presidential election is no time to launch a peace plan whose chances of success are abysmally low.
Instead, Secretary of State Pompeo’s announcement leaves a historic legacy in the region, without bringing the parties together in a peace deal. It’s a legacy that favors Israel and diminishes the Palestinians, who have refused to deal with the Trump administration.
The impact of Pompeo’s announcement is significant. The Trump administration’s change in policy means that America will no longer oppose settlement construction in international forums. That fact alone gives Israel new confidence, especially in the UN Security Council, where, in December 2016, the members termed Israel’s presence in the West Bank “a flagrant violation of international law.”
According to a report on Israel’s Channel 13, the key player behind the change in policy was US Ambassador to Israel David Freidman, who pressed Pompeo to make the historic change.
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