WHY EVEN GO TO THE UN?:

[I]t was clear to anyone familiar with the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that what little hope remained for a two-state solution would depend on the emergence of an Israeli government entirely under the control of Israel's far right. Only a far-right government that so deeply offends American democratic sensibilities -- as this one surely will -- could provide the political opening necessary for a change in America's Middle East policy.

Mr. Netanyahu has wasted no time providing that offense by appointing as his justice minister a Knesset member, Ayelet Shaked, who approvingly posted an article on her Facebook page that called for the destruction of "the entire Palestinian people, including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure."

The victory of Israel's far right has thus provided an unexpected, if narrow, opening for Mr. Obama, allowing him to call for a reassessment of America's peace policy.

Such a reassessment must begin by abandoning the old assumption that Palestinians can achieve statehood only by negotiating with Mr. Netanyahu. Because of Mr. Netanyahu's statements and behavior during the elections (not to mention the continued construction in the settlements), that belief has been irreparably discredited. It is now certain that a two-state agreement will never emerge from any bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Such an agreement can only be achieved if the United Nations Security Council, with strong support from the United States, presents the parties with clear terms for resumed peace talks that will produce an agreement within a specified timeframe.

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