What Comes After Kerry Will Be Different

It is normal for public figures (I am speaking of political commentators more so than of creative types) to reveal only the essence of their new book or movie when they are guests on evening talk shows, speaking about their work’s imminent release. This is to avoid [bad publicity on the work in question,] something all the participants understand perfectly. It whets their appetite for the work’s release, and they lavish compliments upon their guest, especially if that guest is a celebrity.

In the world of politics and diplomacy things do not go this way, especially if the matter is related to flagging negotiations, taking place behind closed doors. Nothing gets leaked to the media unless one of the parties desires it, so as to test the possible responses and try to ascertain the public’s opinion. This has been called "the balloon test," or seeing if the first angry response from somewhere or other pops the balloon. If so, then, they must modify their position and manage the possible clash between participant expectations and the challenges negotiators face.

At one point, it was a priority for America’s persistent negotiator, Secretary of State John Kerry, to carry on the play that everyone has seen before. Everyone already knows its dramatic ending because it was written in the play’s beginning, before being broadcast to the entire world. Meanwhile, various political necessities, as well as political conveniences, assured all parties an exorbitantly priced ticket to the show.

But those parties were also guaranteed entry into a new kind of show, a show the likes of which have never been seen before. Maybe, they enter so as to compliment the director, or maybe, they just waste time and tear any and all potential agreements to shreds, while the audience watches hour after hour of this same scene, waiting impatiently for this final act to end, so they may finally drop the curtain and turn out the lights.

This outcome (of the most recent round of negotiations) surprised nobody. Nobody was shocked, even mildly so, when we ended up in the same place we have been for nearly two decades. We have seen a series of American intermediaries come and go, leaving behind nothing significant, other than repeated failures. Incompetence has become a required trait for American diplomats in the past few years. This has become obvious to us, and it is obvious to the rest of the world as well.

With all of that, one cannot breathe a sigh of relief, or delight and rub ones hands together with joy at what seemed to many like a blessing: the failure of the Kerry plan that never rose to the level of "plan," [for there was nothing in it of real substance.] Everything that was hard is about to become a whole lot more difficult, and other available options will evaporate, as I said they would, and the cost will become more severe than any time before. Previous experience has shown us that whenever a door is closed on the Palestinians, one is opened for Israel, so they may continue their arrogant age-old sins.

It is not necessary to recount every single, additional burden (to the peace process) that will be added to the crushing ones already here. We have never had a surplus of confidence (in the process). These burdens accumulate with the passing of time. Soon, there will be no way to deal with all of them, and the long wait will have destroyed any potential peace, exhausted of standing by, while the impossible fails to appear. The situation that is cause for grave concern is one of "no victor, no vanquished," where there is no war, and no peace: a situation of constant negotiations about negotiations, where no official tour of an American can end without another one’s being agreed on — a game of endless political maneuvering.

I believe now is the time for some fundamental changes, away from hopelessness, fatalism and paralysis over the terrible consequences looming on the horizon. An arrogant, warlike, racist occupation will not hesitate to commit its crimes, so we must work to change the old story of the cat and the mouse. Like a silkworm emerging from its chrysalis, we must show persistence. Through negotiations, Israel must be forced to unconditionally recognize an independent Palestinian nation. We must transform our strategy to one of slow steady progress in many areas, accumulating statehood, rights, sovereignty and recognition over time. It must be done piece by piece, attempt by attempt, in the halls of the United Nations, with its various organizations and agencies.