Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: Russia and the US Need to Join Forces

After the "Arab Spring" the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was politically marginalized. In the Arab world there were stormy events, and the attention of global and regional powers was distracted. Even the dialogue, which at the very least was conducted between the Palestinians and the Israelis, after 2014 was virtually stopped. The long settlement process was frozen.

Serious changes took place in the Middle East as a whole, and now there is no reason to believe that clashes between the armies of the Arab states and Israel are possible. The conflict has returned to its very source, the Palestinian problem, which is the most difficult to settle because it is based on the claims of two peoples for the same land.

However, there is reason to hope for a breakthrough in the Palestinian problem. On May 3, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas visited the United States, where he held talks with President Donald Trump, and on May 11 he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump assured Mahmoud Abbas that the United States was interested in settling the Palestinian issue, although he did not say anything about the "two state solution" principle, because he had already stated earlier that he was not ready to insist on this formula, but was ready to contribute to the Palestinian-Israeli talks.

During the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and the Russian President Vladimir Putin bilateral relations between the Palestinian administration and Russia, as well as the problems of the Middle East settlement were discussed . Much attention was paid to the decisions of the last summit of the League of Arab States, which was held in Amman, Jordan, on March 29, 2017. The leaders of the Arab countries supported the settlement of the Palestinian issue: it was noted the readiness of all Arab participants in the conflict to normalize relations with Israel after the settlement. This is the essence of the Arab initiative, which was put forward by the League of Arab States.

Moreover, Putin and Abbas discussed the issue of normalization of relations between the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions. Now Hamas is headed by Ismail Haniyeh, who is considered a less balanced leader than Khaled Mashaal. It is said that he is more connected with the Hamas security forces and less inclined to make concessions. However, certain changes in Hamas are evident, but, apparently, they do not satisfy Israel, because the strategy of Hamas is based on the non-recognition of Israel.

In any case, the problem of resolving relations between the two parts of the Palestinian movement is constantly on the agenda. It has to somehow be resolved, because when the Palestinian delegation does not represent all the forces of the Palestinian movement, this complicates the peace process, regardless of whether these are secular or Islamist factions. Obviously, a joint delegation should be formed, which will represent everyone.

Equally important is the position of Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He spoke with Vladimir Putin the day before the meeting between the Russian president and Mahmoud Abbas. Russia has already offered mediation and spoke about the possibility of a direct meeting between Palestinians and Israelis in Moscow. Apparently, this idea will be activated again. The idea is to unite participants at the conflict in Moscow and give new impetus to direct negotiations between them.

At the same time, the position of the United States is of great importance. The Palestinians themselves recognize this and call for the coordination of efforts between Russia and the United States. Despite the difficult relationship between the two countries, such hope remains. The Middle East, unlike other regions where Russian-American disagreements are much more acute, gives some chances for coordinating efforts. This concerns both Syria and the Palestinian problem. At the recent meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Donald Trump. the Palestinian problem was also discussed to some extent.

All in all, on the one hand one can speak of Moscow's initiative, and on the other hand about the possibility of coordinating efforts between Russia and the United States, which could also contribute to the improvement of their bilateral relations, which now experience very difficult period of time.

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.