Hillary Rodham Clinton put down the right markers on her first Middle East trip as secretary of state.
Whatever the eventual composition of a new, and presumably more hawkish, government after Israel’s last election, Mrs. Clinton made clear that America’s compelling interest lies in a two-state solution anchored by a broad regional peace. She advanced that interest by announcing diplomatic re-engagement with Syria and strong American support for the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.
Former President George W. Bush made a serious mistake by shunning Syria, pushing it further into Iran’s arms. Coaxing Syria away from Tehran would benefit Washington, deepening Iran’s isolation on the nuclear issue and encouraging Syrian cooperation in stabilizing Iraq. It would benefit Israel, giving Syria greater incentives to cut off arms flows to Hezbollah in Lebanon. And it would benefit Syria, by providing the wider diplomatic and economic opening Damascus has been seeking.
Israel’s likely next prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is believed to be more open to peace talks with Syria than with the Palestinians, but peacemaking with Syria is a supplement, not a substitute, for peacemaking with the Palestinians.
Mr. Abbas remains the key on that front, despite the weakness of his Fatah party. Fatah’s rival, Hamas, disqualifies itself so long as it permits rocket fire and terrorism against Israel and rejects past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.
Yet the widespread civilian suffering in January caused by Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas in Gaza damaged Mr. Abbas’s credibility as an effective defender of Palestinian interests. Washington must convince Israeli leaders to help rebuild it.
In the West Bank, that means freezing further settlement construction and expansion. It means lifting roadblocks between Palestinian cities and towns that are not needed for security. In East Jerusalem, it means stopping the humiliating eviction of Palestinians. And in Gaza, it means expanding exceptions to the blockade to allow the import of cement and reconstruction materials. These moves will benefit Mr. Abbas more than Hamas, which feeds on Palestinian suffering.
Mrs. Clinton says that she raised these points with Israeli leaders. She will need to keep raising them, and so will President Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, who will return to the region after a new Israeli government is in place. Eight years of incoherent policies and inconsistent engagement make reviving American peace efforts harder — and more urgent.
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