Op-Ed: Steps Israel should take to control its destiny

TEL AVIV (JTA) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told European diplomats that he will resume negotiations with Israel on a two-state solution after the United Nations votes in November on a Palestinian request for "non-member state" status. What’s most interesting about the widespread report this week is that Abbas made no mention of his longstanding demand for Israel to halt West Bank settlement construction, which Israel has refused, before peace talks resume.

But attempts at negotiation have failed for more than three years while the Iranian nuclear threat has pushed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict off the international agenda.

That's why a new approach for tackling this conflict is needed -- one that would give the parties a sense of progress and hope, and facilitate a return to negotiations. It would aim at attaining transitional arrangements, such as a partial, phased or interim agreement, rather than a permanent-status agreement.

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/11/3109016/op-ed-steps-israel-should-take-to-control-its-destiny