Doesn’t the fact that the Middle East is in the throes of unprecedented turmoil count for anything? Bloody civil wars are consuming Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen, with ominous impact on Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. Seeds of unrest continue to sprout in Egypt, South Sudan, and Turkey. And this is to say nothing of the growing and dangerous rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Plainly, not only does the instability create great, and arguably unacceptable, risks for Israel in terms of the Golan, but in terms of its the confrontation with the Palestinians as well. How then can anyone, particularly an American president, insist that Israel make a deal with an aging, unstable Palestinian leadership whose ability to enforce any agreement is uncertain at best?
