Washington seems to be increasingly focusing on this equation. After all, Washington's chances of success in talking to Iran, as well as the effectiveness of the Arab opposition to Iran, hinges on America's ability to show progress on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Such an Iran-Palestine connection also suits Netanyahu. The Likud-led government wants to link peace with the Palestinians to a prior deal between the West and Iran to ensure that the Islamic Republic is prevented from getting a nuclear bomb. Moreover, Israel believes that Iran, because of the drop in oil prices and its consequent economic troubles, is now susceptible to international pressure.No doubt, Obama's policy of talking to Iran “without preconditions” greatly worries Israeli policymakers. But they nevertheless recognize the validity of the Iran-Palestinian equation. All this puts the ball squarely in Netanyahu's court as far as the Palestinian question is concerned. Can Netanyahu show flexibility on the Palestinian front? There is bad news and good news. The obvious bad news is that Netanyahu is an unrepentant hard-liner who publicly refuses to accept the notion of two states. He wants to continue to squeeze the Gaza Strip until Hamas is toppled. He says he will not give Syria back the Golan Heights. And he refuses to freeze the growth of Jewish settlements.
The good news is that his team is not of one ideological stripe. His weak coalition government includes the Labor party, with its leader, Ehud Barak, as minister of defense. In 2000, as prime minister, Barak offered Israel's boldest concessions in Palestine. He now advocates a “regional peace” effort and has reportedly assured George Mitchell, Washington's Middle East envoy, that he is available to help persuade Netanyahu of the merit of an “Iranian neutralization-for-Palestinian peace” bargain. Washington, for its part, appears ready to play hard ball with Israel. For instance, when Netanyahu asked to visit Washington in early May the White House told him that the president was not available. Jordan's King Abdullah, on the other hand, was hosted at the White House on April 21. CIA chief Leon Panetta was also in Tel Aviv recently to receive assurances that Israel would not act unilaterally against Iran with a surprise attack.
To be sure, Netanyahu is a difficult partner for Washington. But so was Menachem Begin, whom America persuaded to make peace with Egypt 30 years ago. The key for Washington will be to convince Netanyahu that he needs to rapidly accept a two-state solution, to stop building settlements and to resume the peace talks where they were left off in 2000. Today both Israel and Washington see Iran's nuclear ambitions as the most pressing and dangerous problem in the Middle East. Washington and Tel Aviv also see a convergence of interests between themselves and moderate Arab states in the region in the face of a perceived threat from Iran, Syria, Hezbullah and Hamas.
King Abdullah of Jordan recently spoke of “a 57-state solution” between Israel and the entire Muslim world, embracing the full membership of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Netanyahu said that such a proposal is in line his own public statements urging leading regional governments to be more active in diplomacy aimed at making peace with Israel. He apparently made the same point last week to Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak.
It would be an irony of historic proportions if Iran's nuclear ambitions end up bringing Israel, America and the Arab world closer to forging a two-state solution to the Palestinian question. The biggest problem for such a scenario remains Hamas. Unlike the Bush administration, President Obama endorsed the idea of a Palestinian government that would include Hamas members -- on the grounds that such a government would speak with more authority to the Israelis. Yet talking to a Palestinian delegation with Hamas representatives is a non-starter for Tel Aviv. In any case, such a coalition between the two Palestinian groups remains elusive. In short, Iran, through its control over Hamas and Hezbullah, still holds the key to peace (and war) in the Middle East.
Benzer Haberler 
