The US is pretty much adamant that it can help secure a peace deal in the age-old Israeli-Palestinian problem. It has never let that screen of confidence slip and the admission by the US Secretary fo State Condoleezza Rice that the window of opportunity for the Middle East crisis to come to a firm end is closing down has allowed more pessimism to seep in is surprising indeed.
It’s clear to one and all that the upcoming Annapolis peace talk over the matter of creating a Palestinian State beside Israel is going to be a curial one in deciding the long-term future of the region. So much so that a few days ago, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas threatened to resign should no positive solution to the lingering controversy is unearth at the peace conference.
Rice’s speech at the US House was centered mainly on the Israel-Palestine crisis but was punctuated at times by the Iraq war protestors. In her speech, she made it clear that the Annapolis peace talks could be the most pivotal discussion yet on the matter. But it’s hard to believe that any solution can be reached at this meeting.
Several peace talks, mostly initiated by the US, have yielded very few results. Israel and Palestine are still locked in a bitter war with each other and Palestine itself is internally much divided, with both Fatah and Hamas declining to concede power.
The Middle East is indeed a very sensitive region and a major fraction of the world’s problem is hatched there. Supplementing the Israel-Palestine crisis is the failing Iraq war and the Iran nuclear controversy. Rice discussed all these issues in the US House but her focus was firmly on the upcoming Annapolis peace effort. But one wonders whether this peace initiative, like all those preceding it, would be a failed effort.
Image Source: RUVR
Source: Usa Today
