Renew the Mideast peace process? Not now
By Chuck Freilich
Chuck Freilich, a senior fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School, was a deputy national security advisor in Israel under Labor and Likud governments. He is the author of "Zion's Dilemmas: How Israel Makes National Security Policy."
November 23, 2012, 4:41 p.m.
Israelis cynically refer to the repeated rounds of violence with the Arabs as "happiness," as in "it's happy today." Before the cease-fire, as Hamas fired 1,000 rockets at Israel, it was indeed very "happy."
A diplomatic push put an end to the fighting, with intensive mediation efforts by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. If the truce holds, happiness will be behind us, for now.
It is standard diplomatic practice to view crises as an opportunity to seek fundamental change in the situation. Well before Operation Pillar of Defense started, strategists and pundits were calling on President Obama to devote his second term to a renewed effort to promote the long-moribund peace process. They are wrong.
The last thing the Middle East needs today — especially Israelis and Palestinians — and the last thing the U.S. needs is another failed American-led peace process. And it would fail. What Bill Clinton and George W. Bush could not achieve on the basis of Israel's dramatic proposals in 2000 and 2008, Obama will not be able to do today. Regional conditions are far less propitious.
More: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-1125-freilich-mideast-peace-process-20121122,0,3422370.story
= new reply since forum marked as read
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her talks in Israel this week not to take any extreme actions in response to the Palestinian move in the United Nations for recognition as a non-member state. Clinton said such steps against the Palestinian Authority could bring about its collapse. The Palestinians are planning to ask the United Nations General Assembly to vote on upgrading its status from non-member entity on the symbolic date of November 29.
The day after the cease-fire with Hamas took effect, Israel is preparing for the next crisis with the Palestinians, which is scheduled for six days from now. November 29th is the anniversary of the United Nations vote on accepting the Partition Plan in 1947, which led to the founding of the Jewish Sate. It is also the United Nations' International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The Palestinians are expected to have the support of at least 150 of the 193 UN members for their bid. Israel is particularly worried about the upgraded status, since it would allow the Palestinians to also ask for membership in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and then bring cases against Israel, such as for construction in the settlements. In an attempt to deter Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel threatened to respond with various punishments against the PA.
Clinton met with Netanyahu Tuesday night in Jerusalem. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman also were present. The focus of the meeting was on the attempts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza, but the issue of the Palestinian UN proposal was also discussed.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/clinton-warns-netanyahu-not-to-punish-palestinian-authority-for-un-bid.premium-1.479966
I'm sure we;ll be hearing about Obama demand her resignation for such an appalling outburst shortly 
