
The cynical Beltway chatter about Secretary of State John Kerry paused last week with the announcement that peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians might begin shortly in Washington.

The Elders, a group of independent leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each face political pressures at home that have constrained their abilities to compromise on the peace process.

There is no end in sight to the current impasse in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An unanticipated shift in the regional environment may be the only force that can spur change.

The defacto annexation of the West Bank through settlements, along with declining secular Jewish births and the size of the non-Jewish population, means that Israel is en route to becoming a non-majority Jewish country.

Members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet and party are now openly declaring the two-state solution dead.

Intra-Palestinian reconciliation takes a back seat to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace process.

Washington needs to work privately with all the parties—Palestinians, Israelis, and Arabs—to allow for a speedy negotiation process. Only the full backing of the U.S. president and a bold new plan can push the peace process forward.

Institutional failure to move the peace process forward is compelling the Palestinian people to look to themselves and to civil society for a solution.

Join Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian and Carnegie Vice President Marwan Muasher for a discussion of the prospects for peace in the Middle East.