WHEN TWO SIDES SIT DOWN TO NEGOTIATE ONE HAS ALREADY LOST:

For Once, Hope in the Middle East (MARTIN INDYK, 8/27/10, NY Times)

First, violence is down considerably in the region. [...]

[T]he number of Israeli civilians killed in terrorist attacks has dropped from an intifada high of 452 in 2002 to 6 last year and only 2 so far this year.

Second, settlement activity has slowed significantly. [...]

Third, the public on both sides supports a two-state solution. So do a majority of Arabs. The simple truth is that most people in the Middle East are exhausted by this conflict, and if Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas can reach a viable agreement, the public on all sides will likely support it by a large majority. [...]

Fourth, there isn’t a lot to negotiate. In the 17 years since the Oslo accords were signed, detailed final status negotiations have dealt exhaustively with all the critical issues. If an independent Palestinian state is to be established, the zone of agreement is clear and the necessary trade-offs are already known.

Netanyahu proposes bi-weekly meetings with Abbas during direct peace talks (Barak Ravid and Jonathan Lis, 8/27/10, Ha'aretz)

[T]he Yesha Council of settlers is gearing up for the possibility that the 10-month freeze on settlement construction will remain in force past the September 26 deadline.

According to the council, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak plan to enforce a "quiet freeze." Under this scenario, the moratorium would be declared officially over, but Barak would not sign building permits brought to him for approval.

The settlers thus fear that in practice they will face enormous bureaucratic hurdles in their efforts to expand settlements.

One of the effects of this policy, the settlers argue, is that there will be hardly any new construction in the settlement blocs.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 29, 2010 7:20 AM