While the current situation in internal Palestinian politics clearly complicates the context for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, it also underscores the urgent need for a diplomatic process that can provide a clear horizon of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel.  (Included below are several resources related to the Palestinian governance crisis).  In CMEP meetings with Senate staff, we are finding that the current crisis is prompting new questions about U.S. policy related to the Arab-Israeli conflict and in some cases a new recognition of the urgent need for U.S. diplomatic engagement to reinvigorate the peace process.  S. Res. 224, the Feinstein/Lugar Resolution on Israeli-Palestinian peace, is still very much in play and support from constituents is important.  For guidance, see CMEP’s June 8^th action alert and June 14^th letter to the Senate. 

…“Going on the Offensive

The United States has violated some basic national security precepts during our military engagement in Iraq. We have overestimated what the military can achieve, we have set goals that are unrealistic, and we have inadequately factored in the broader regional consequences of our actions. Perhaps most critically, our focus on Iraq has diverted us from opportunities to change the world in directions that strengthen our national security… 

…The best counter to perceptions that we have lost credibility in Iraq would be a sustained and ambitious set of initiatives that repairs alliances and demonstrates our staying power in the Middle East. 

The Iraq Study Group report recommended such a diplomatic offensive, stating ‘all key issues in the Middle East – the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, Iran, the need for political and economic reforms, and extremism and terrorism, are inextricably linked.’ The report stressed that diplomacy aimed at solving key regional issues would ‘help marginalize extremists and terrorists, promote U.S. values and interests, and improve America’s global image.’… 

…“The Elephants in the Room

A diplomatic offensive centered on Iraq and surrounding countries would help lift American interests in the Middle East.  But credibility and sustainability of our actions depend on addressing the two elephants in the room of U.S. Middle East policy -- the Arab-Israeli conflict and U.S. dependence on Persian Gulf oil. These are the two problems that our adversaries, especially Iran, least want us to address. They are the conditions that most constrain our freedom of action and perpetuate vulnerabilities. The implementation of an effective program to remedy these conditions could be as valuable to our long-term security as the achievement of a stable, pro-Western government in Iraq.

The Arab-Israeli conflict will not be easily solved. Recent combat between the Hamas and Fatah Palestinian factions that led to Hamas’ military preeminence in the Gaza Strip complicates efforts to put the peace process back on track. But even if a settlement is not an immediate possibility, we have to demonstrate clearly that the United States is committed to helping facilitate a negotiated outcome. Progress in the Arab-Israeli conflict would not end the sectarian conflict in Iraq, but it could restore credibility lost by the United States in the region. It also would undercut terrorist propaganda, slow Iranian influence, and open new possibilities related to Syria…” 

Link to Full Speech

Plan B on Israel-Palestine, Daniel Levy, Prospects for Peace, June 22, 2007