The United States announced it will no longer push for a further Israeli 90-day building freeze. At about the same time, the governments of Brazil and Argentina announced recognition of a Palestinian state within the “1967 borders,” with Uruguay announcing it will do so in early 2011. By the time you read this, other countries may have joined in.

Contrast the quiet acknowledgement of failure by the U.S. government with the loud way it originally raised the settlement issue as a precondition for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The conceptual flaws in this policy were widely noted and criticized at the time. Many predicted that this precondition would strengthen the settler right in Israel, encourage Palestinian obstinacy, and confuse America’s supporters while delighting its critics. Now, despite the considerable achievement of getting Prime Minster Netanyahu to agree on an unprecedented ten-month building freeze, the initiative has arrived at its predicted demise.

Ed Rettig, Acting Director, AJC-Jerusalem