Writing in Haaretz, Aluf Benn believes that Israel needs to look beyond the US to find its reconciliation partners: “A world that depends on pursuing power rather than justice will be less interested in the Palestinian problem. Israel will be able to control the territories as long as it manages to prevent an outbreak of violence there and throws a bone to the international community every once in a while, here some kind of progress in negotiations, there the removal of a roadblock or establishment of a financial project. That’s what Olmert did when he realized the danger that continued occupation and the settlements pose to Israel but was too weak to actually change the situation.

The best chance for an Israeli-Palestinian agreement now lies with the Gulf states, where an international economic and financial center is being developed. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar are giving Israel an economic opportunity it would be a shame to miss, and only a two-hour flight from Ben-Gurion International Airport. But they are demanding a price: the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Wheel of Fortune