WHAT WENT WRONG WITH PEACE PROCESS

What Went Wrong by Dennis Ross (WSJ)
The Clinton administration should have recognized Arafat's myriad faults. Now we're faced by the challenge of Hamas.

Since January, the administration's objective has been to produce a "political horizon" between Israelis and Palestinians - meaning an agreement (or plan) on the contours of a permanent status deal on Jerusalem, refugees and borders. The feasibility of such an objective needs to be reassessed now. With two Palestinian regimes, one led by Fatah in the West Bank and one led by Hamas in Gaza, does it make sense to be defining what permanent status would look like? Pushing for an objective that is demonstrably not achievable now is not going to enhance our already shaky position in the Middle East.

See also Frame Work - Dennis Ross (New Republic)