RAMALLAH — The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace — a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.
Make no mistake: This is not a call to arms or an appeal for a violent uprising. Peace between the conflicting parties east of the Mediterranean and west of the Jordan river can and must be achieved through negotiations. But if one party is more interested in a process than in the need for peace, something must be wrong.
For Israel, an occupying power whose people enjoy democratic civilian authority and a GDP tens of times greater than that of the people to whom it is denying basic rights of freedom and independence, photo opportunities provided by meeting and greeting Palestinian leaders has replaced achieving peace.